The San Francisco 49ers got a clear look at how their defense performs without Nick Bosa during the second half of their loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
If Bosa has to miss more time, it could seriously hurt the 49ers’ chances of making the playoffs.
After being held in check for the first two and a half quarters, the Seahawks managed to score two touchdowns on three possessions once Bosa left the game with an injury. This helped Seattle pull off a 20-17 comeback win against the Niners.
Bosa expressed concern after the game that he might need to miss some games due to a hip and oblique injury on both sides of his body that he’s been dealing with for the past two weeks. However, coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday that there’s still a chance Bosa might play next week.
“We’ll see how it goes this week,” Shanahan said. “Just as good of a chance for him not to play as play. But unless it’s an injury that you know has him knocked out, you always can rule that out early. But when it’s not that case, you don’t decide those things on Mondays.”
The 49ers (5-5) have bigger issues than just Bosa’s injury, even though his absence seemed to contribute to Seattle’s offensive success in the second half.
This loss marked the third time this season that San Francisco lost a game after leading in the fourth quarter against a division rival. The Niners struggled both on offense and defense when they needed to close out the game.
Now, the 49ers are tied for second in the NFC West, one game behind the Arizona Cardinals. With three losses in their division, the Niners have little room for error if they want to make it back to the playoffs, especially after reaching the Super Bowl last season and the NFC Championship game the previous two years.
“That was a tough loss,” Shanahan said. “We had every chance to win it, and we didn’t get it done. So I think guys are disappointed and upset. We all know each other pretty well, and we understand our expectations. We had a good team meeting addressed a bunch of the fourth quarter.”
