5 biggest takeaways from 49ers win with Trey Lance vs. Texans

Takeaway No. 1: 49ers pass rush is finally getting depth contributions

For much of the year, the Niners were relying almost solely on EDGE Nick Bosa to provide the pass rush.

It worked, as Bosa has 15 sacks and a league-best 19 tackles for a loss, although he was kept off the stat sheet for sacks in Week 17 against the Texans.

But, as opponents have been shifting their focus towards limiting Bosa, the rest of San Francisco’s pass-rush department has started to pick up the slack after not being as big an X-factor for much of the year up to this point.

The 49ers sacked Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill four times in Week 16 without Bosa notching one of those, and then the Niners managed to pull down Texans quarterback Davis Mills three times, one sack each going to EDGEs Arden Key and Jordan Willis, while the other was split between defensive tackle Arik Armstead and EDGE Samson Ebukam.

Key now has a career-best six sacks, currently second on San Francisco behind Bosa, while Ebukam has notched four sacks over his last four games.

Just like Trey Lance making plays on offense, the 49ers are getting the much-needed production from this side of the ball, too.