49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa took hold of the NFL lead in sacks on Saturday with a pair of QB takedowns in San Francisco's 37-20 victory over the Commanders.
Teammate George Kittle believes it's time to give Bosa his recognition following another dominant performance in 2022.
"I think today secured his defensive MVP," Kittle said after the NIners' win on Saturday, via ESPN. "I don't know how it doesn't. If you look at what he does every Sunday compared to everyone else around the league whether it's offense or defense, I don't know why he's not in the MVP conversation, too.
"Every single day he's just an absolute monster. All the sacks, they're earned and deserved. He's fantastic. He's never not good."
Bosa's first sack on Saturday came during the Commanders' two-minute drill at the end of the second quarter, when he beat Charles Leno Jr. off the edge to take down Taylor Heinicke. In the fourth quarter, Bosa came around the other side of the line to beat Cornelius Lucas and strip-sack Heinicke to put San Francisco's offense into the red zone with a 10-point lead.
Saturday's pair of sacks brought Bosa's season total to 17.5, a new career-high for the fourth-year pro.
"I feel like I have an answer for every type of blocker at this point," said Bosa after the win. "Some better than others obviously, but it's going well."
The 49ers' star pass rusher also had a hand in San Francisco's interception on the Commanders' next fourth-quarter possession, bringing pressure to Heinicke to force an errant throw, which resulted in the Commanders QB's benching. Bosa also came up clutch with a tackle of Heinicke on fourth down in the third quarter, made a play on Washington's failed 2-point conversion attempt, and was the catalyst of the 49ers defense's dominant second half.
"It's insane the level he's playing at," Warner said. "That's a big reason why our defense is going the way it is because we know it takes all 11 to rush and the coverage works together, but knowing that he's on the field and has that opportunity to get home, you get stickier in coverage and you're able to sit on routes. He's just been playing out of his mind."
With two games left to play, Bosa has an outside shot at the all-time single-season sack record of 22.5, a mark shared by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. The 25-year-old has a better shot at rewriting the 49ers' history books with Aldon Smith's 19.5-sack team record well within his sights.
Earning his third Pro Bowl honor this past week, Bosa is certainly in the primary discussion for Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and earning that title is what dreams are made of for the former No. 2 overall pick.
"That's a dream," Bosa said. "I've played this game since I was 7 years old, and I played D-line the entire way through. I've watched guys throughout the years and just wanted to be in that position, and I finally feel like I'm kind of living out my dream."
