JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Just minutes into their reunion as teammates, Nick Bosa and Chase Young did exactly what they’d hoped to rekindle from their Ohio State days: They met at the quarterback.
That meant sandwiching the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence for one of the 49ers’ five sacks in Sunday’s 34-3 win. Better yet, that first sack resulted in Bosa forcing a fumble that he recovered.
“Having him is such a big threat. We play off of each other well,” Bosa said of Young, with whom he played collegiately in 2017-18. “Me and him are really excited to keep going.”
This performance was bigger than that one play by two heralded pass rushers, all due respect to Bosa’s 1 ½ sacks in his best game of the year and Young’s debut after his Oct. 30 trade from Washington.
A resounding theme in the postgame setting was how the 49ers’ defense played “complementary.” While a great pass rush can be the best friend for a secondary, the same could be said in vice versa, and it was said.
“The guys in the back end were disguising things and mixing it up,” defensive tackle Arik Armstead said. “Guys being sticky in coverage allowed us that extra hitch (in Lawrence’s throwing motion) and confusing him.
“Once we did that, he was looking to scramble. Our job was to keep him in the pocket and get him down.”
That led to five sacks, 10 hits and four takeaways at a place once known as “Sacksonville,” for the Jaguars’ 2017 defense.
Lawrence passed for 185 yards (17-of-29) and committed three turnovers. Besides the aforementioned fumble, he was intercepted by Fred Warner and Talanoa Hufanga, both times under pressure from Bosa and Javon Hargrave.
Hargrave delivered a third-down sack on the game’s opening series to seize the momentum, and he shared a third-down sack with Armstead on the next series. With five altogether — solos Clelin Ferrell and Bosa along with the Bosa-Young duet — the 49ers matched their season high set in the opener at Pittsburgh.
“Our back end did an unreal job mixing things up and kind of confusing Trevor,” Bosa said. “We got more opps than we’ve had all year, by far.”
Lawrence concurred, saying: “They got in some exotic looks early in the game, the first and second drive. … You can’t give ’em momentum and give ’em the sack. You get their pass rush going.”
“They’re really good, especially playing with a lead,” Lawrence added. “Their offense is kind of built for that. They have a great scheme. They held onto the ball today, we didn’t.”
The Jaguars committed four turnovers, the 49ers none.
“We rushed collectively the best I’ve seen,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Watching live from the sideline, it seemed collectively our group had its best game yet, and that’s the goal.”
Armstead agreed, but he was none too happy with a play involving Jaguars’ guard Brandon Scherff.
“He tripped me, kicked me in my knee, and kind of messed up my day,” Armstead said. “ … I had a lot of respect for him. But tripping me, kicking me in my knee, I could have been seriously hurt. Just a dirty play.”
Armstead is the 49ers’ longest-tenured player, a ninth-year veteran. He is the last player still on the roster who was drafted by previous general manager Trent Baalke. who now serves in that role for the Jaguars.
In pregame warmups Sunday, Baalke stood just feet away from the 49ers’ defensive linemen, not just admiring them but surely scouting them. Slated to hit free agency next year are Ferrell, Young and Javon Kinlaw, who were part of a five-man line on the game’s opening snap and a few other plays.
Source: www.mercurynews.com