For the second time in his young NFL career, rookie edge rusher Nick Bosa has earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Bosa is coming off of one of his best performances as a member of the 49ers, racking up a career-high three sacks, four total tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, a pass breakup and his first-career interception returned for 46 yards in the Week 8 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Through seven games, Bosa has registered seven sacks, 20 tackles, 21 quarterback pressures, 13 quarterback hits, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. With 7.0 sacks on the season, he now ranks fourth in franchise history for the most sacks by a rookie. Bosa is currently on track to catch former NFL defensive end Jevon Kearse's rookie sack record (14) which was set back in 1999.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bosa leads the NFL in pass rush productivity (13.2), pressure rate (22 percent) and leads rookie defenders in win rate (23.9 percent), total pressures (35) and pass rushing grade (85.7). Bosa's performance halfway through the season has teammates believing he belongs in the early conversations for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
"He's an incredibly poised player. He's everything you could ask for. He's probably one of the best picks in ten years with just how he's played and he's played like this since Day 1," teammate Richard Sherman said following Sunday's win. "He deserves Player of the Week or Rookie of the Week or Rookie of the Year, everything. If he just kept the stat line as it is right now, he could win Rookie of the Year, but right now, he should be in line for Defensive MVP."
Bosa was previously named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after the 49ers Week 5 win over the Cleveland Browns where the rookie tallied two sacks, two tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
In addition to being named NFC Defensive Player of the Week, Bosa also earned a Pepsi Rookie of the Week nomination following his Week 8 performance against Carolina.
