49ers vs. Falcons: 5 painful takeaways from San Francisco’s Week 6 loss
By Peter Panacy
49ers vs. Falcons takeaway No. 2: San Francisco missed Nick Bosa
Pro Bowl EDGE Nick Bosa was probably close to being able to play on Sunday despite suffering a groin injury in the Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Perhaps San Francisco was wise to rule Bosa out for the game, though, opting instead to get him fully healthy against much tougher games, such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams in Weeks 7 and 8, respectively.
But, wow, the 49ers sure missed Bosa against Atlanta.
The 49ers were able to muster two sacks on quarterback Marcus Mariota, yes, and that might be somewhat impressive considering he only dropped back to pass 14 times.
Yet Bosa is far more than just an elite pass-rusher, and his not being present to help set the edge against Atlanta’s run-first offense was glaringly apparent.
The Falcons gashed the Niners for 168 yards on the ground, many of those coming on the edges where Bosa’s would-be presence likely would have limited some big gains.
Tack on the fact San Francisco was down three-fourths of its defensive line, and one could see how this was going to be a problem.