5 things 49ers fans can be thankful for so far in 2021

No. 3: 49ers are getting lights-out play from Nick Bosa

There were reasonable concerns EDGE Nick Bosa might not come back at 100 percent after being one of those aforementioned key injuries back in 2020 when he suffered a torn ACL in Week 2. Even as late as training camp, Bosa was frequently limited, and it wasn’t hard to see questions about his overall effectiveness this year.

Well, put those to rest.

Bosa is easily better than his impressive rookie season, and the stats are revealing it. The former No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick already surpassed his first-year total of sacks, punching 10 in total through 11 weeks, and he currently leads the league with 15 tackles for a loss, one off from his rookie-year total of 16.

And while the 49ers haven’t exactly received upper-echelon pass-rushing performances from anyone else on their defense, Bosa at least has made up for the deficiencies with his stellar play, helping the Niners allow a mere 20 points combined over the last two weeks.

Now, San Francisco fans would probably be just a bit more thankful than they already are if the officials started calling more holding penalties against Bosa’s blockers.