49ers’ Bosa has smug response to Eagles' season ending

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

49ers’ Nick Bosa has smug response to Eagles' season ending

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/17/24

When the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Philadelphia Eagles 42-19 in their Week 13 matchup, it began a stretch of unfortunate events for the Eagles, who finished 11-6 and fell from the No. 1 seed in the NFC to No. 5.

At the time, 49ers edge-rusher Nick Bosa joked that the 49ers provided the rest of the league with a blueprint for beating the Eagles. And after they lost six of their final seven games, including their Super Wild Card Weekend matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, he may have been right.

Bosa was asked Tuesday if he was taking any credit for the Eagles playoff loss in which the Bucs limited them to 276 yards of total offense — far below their regular-season average of 354.4 yards per game — to which he had a coy response.

“I actually saw the clip and I was like, ‘Damn, I probably shouldn't have said that,’” Bosa said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “But it worked out pretty good.”

With Philadelphia’s season now over, the 49ers no longer have to worry about replicating their Week 13 performance in a potential rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game.

During that Dec. 3 meeting, the 49ers held Philly to 333 yards of total offense, sacked quarterback Jalen Hurts three times, and forced him to throw a season-high 45 times.

49ers delivered as callous of vengeance as you'll ever see vs the Eagles. They talked. They dressed in all black for a funeral in Philly. They sent Eagles into a tailspin.

But it seems bravado must be paired w/ a Super Bowl title to feel complete. 49ers have pushed chips all-in
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) January 16, 2024

The 49ers defense forced Hurts to try and beat them from the pocket instead of with his legs and his ability to evade rushers, totaling 46 pressures, 37 hurries and six QB hits on his 52 drop backs, per Pro Football Focus.

“We made Jalen stay in the pocket,” Bosa said in December. “Jalen is looking at the [pass] rush every play. So you just have to be disciplined and not give him that quick escape route where he can get to his guys quick. And it paid off."

The Bucs employed a similar game plan on Monday. They finished with 31 pressures, 25 hurries, two QB hits and three sacks, and Hurts ran the ball just one time for five yards.

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