No. 2: Nick Bosa, Dee Ford must win their pass-rush battles
Aaron Rodgers found this out the hard way during both matchups in the 2019 season: When the Niners pass rush is on point, his game will struggle.
Rodgers was sacked a whopping five times during that year’s regular-season contest, then again three times during the NFC Championship game later in January. In both games, EDGE Nick Bosa recorded a sack and was an overall pocket-wrecking force throughout both contests.
Interestingly enough, San Francisco was without fellow EDGE Dee Ford for the regular-season bout. Fully recovered and healthy from his 2020 back injury, the tandem of Bosa and Ford has already proven to be a decisive factor for DeMeco Ryans this season, allowing the coordinator to rely less on blitz packages and more on four-man pressure.
Rodgers is lethal against the blitz anyway, and using that kind of schemed pressure might take away from Fred Warner’s responsibilities on Aaron Jones.
Yet there might be a quality opportunity for both pass-rushers this Sunday, as reserve offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins looks to get the start at left tackle in place of the injured David Bakhtiari, opening up the possibility for a multi-sack game from one of those two defenders.
It’s an age-old football focal point: pressure beats quarterbacks no matter what. The 49ers will need 2019-like pressure on Rodgers in Week 3.