49ers have fans believing
KANSAS CITY The faithful at Levi’s Stadium were itching to salute the San Francisco 49ers defence, and its best player on Saturday provided the perfect opportunity.
It was during the fourth quarter of the divisional round playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings that, at that point, was well in hand. Defensive end Nick Bosa, who was having a great afternoon, remained on the ground after teammate Dee Ford landed on him when they met up, once again, at quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Other 49ers took a knee around the fallen rookie. Suddenly, the crowd provided the cure. It started chanting “Bosa, Bosa, Bosa.”
The subject of their adoration soaked it in, stood and walked off the field.
“I thought he sat there and milked his injury for a little bit longer,” coach Kyle Shanahan said playfully. “Just to hear the crowd chant his name.”
“Hopefully he’ll be OK,” quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said with a smile. “It was just one of those moments, makes you kind of laugh a little bit on the sideline. Fans chanting Bosa and everything. It was a crazy atmosphere. I loved it.”
Bosa admitted he relished his seconds in the spotlight.
“It was really cool,” he said. “I was just trying to catch my breath, initially. Then they told me to stay down for a second. Then I heard the chants. I had to get up then.”
The 49ers faithful had sweated through the final five games of the season, all of which were decided in the last seconds. This one was over early.
If they play two more games like they did against Minnesota, with a dominating defence and a running game that was almost as good, many will forget the 49ers have made the playoffs only three times in the last 13 years, including an absence that covered the past half decade. That’s because the 49ers will join the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers atop the list of Super Bowl wins, with their sixth.
According to NFL Research, Minnesota’s 147 yards of total offence marked the fewest yards allowed by the 49ers in a playoff game during the Super Bowl era.
The Vikings’ seven first downs were also the third fewest by a team in NFL playoff history.
On seven possessions, they failed to budge the chains.
Cousins only had 87 passing yards midway through the fourth quarter, while Dalvin Cook, the key to the Minnesota offence, averaged two yards a carry with nine rushes and six receptions for eight yards.
Much of that had to do with Bosa, who led the charge for a 49ers team that, according to Elias Sports, became the first in history to have five first round picks with at least one sack in a playoff game
Bosa had two, along with six tackles, three QB hits, two tackles for a loss and a pass breakup.