Bosa knows Wilson’s a unique QB
SANTA CLARA >> Nick Bosa, it’s time to meet the quarterback who’s tormented the 49ers more than any other the past decade: the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.
Bosa already knows Wilson presents a different challenge Monday night compared to the other quarterbacks he’s hunted.
What exactly stood out in Bosa’s film study?
“Just his ability to know what’s going on downfield without even looking,” Bosa answered. “He knows where his guys are going to be and he knows where to throw it up, where only they can get it.”
Wilson is 11-3 all time against the 49ers, and he is enjoying his most dominant season to date. Intercepted only once, Wilson has an NFL-best 118.2 passer rating and has thrown a league-high 22 touchdown passes, including five Sunday as the Seahawks (7-2) rallied
for a 40-34 overtime win over Tampa Bay.
Bosa has a team-high seven sacks, tied for 10th in the league. He had just one tackle but three hurries in last Thursday’s 28-25 victory at Arizona, and the first time playing on short rest impacted him.
“The second half, I started to feel the fatigue a little bit,” Bosa said. “But the other team has to go through the same thing, so there’s no excuses there.”
An ensuing four-day break has recharged Bosa, who dominated in his “Monday Night Football” debut Oct. 7 against the Cleveland Browns (two sacks, forced fumble, fumble recovery).
“The past few days have been huge for my body,” Bosa said. “I definitely was pretty sore after playing those two games that quick.”
Bosa’s 38 pressures are tied for 13th among NFL edge rushers, and he’s won 23.8 percent of his passrush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, which added that only Myles Garrett (24.4 percent), J.J. Watt (25.3) and Nick’s older brother, Joey (25.8), have a higher rate.
Joey Bosa has 8 1/2 sacks with the Los Angeles Chargers (4-5), but younger brother insists there is no sibling rivalry fueling their production.
“Nah. It’s not really a competition,” Bosa said. “We’re just hoping for success for each other.”
The 49ers drafted Bosa No. 2 overall to be a menace off the edge, and they brought in Dee Ford to do the same on their line’s opposite side. Perhaps that combination can finally hem in the elusive Wilson.
Asked what makes Seattle’s offensive so tough to stop, Ford responded, simply: “Russell.”
And how to stop Russell? “Still be aggressive but understand he can be Houdini at times, get outside the pocket and make things happen,” Ford said. “We have to plaster in the coverage and rush him up front.”
• Mitch Wishnowsky’s busiest workload of his rookie season has paid dividends, first with yet another 49ers victory and now with his first NFL award.
Wishnowsky won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors Wednesday, the first 49ers rookie to do so since Doug Brien in 1994, their last Super Bowl-winning season.
Wishnowsky pinned the Arizona Cardinals inside their 20-yard line on 3-of-5 punts in Thursday’s 28-25 win. The five punts were a career high, as was the 231 yards they covered for a net average of 42.8.
Drafted in the fourth round, Wishnowsky has attempted only 25 punts, none of which have been blocked. Opponents are averaging a league-low 2.1-yards per return against the 49ers.
He has a 42.3-yard net average per punt, and he also is the 49ers’ kickoff specialist and holder.
Wishnowsky, 27, is a native of Perth, Australia. He earned the nickname “Boomin’ Onion” after a preseason tackle, and he has two this season.