Bosa in elite 49ers company with superb final sack total

Nick Bosa just finished his second full season with the 49ers after injury cut his 2020 campaign short, but he already has put himself amongst some franchise royalty.

The former No. 2 overall draft pick finished the regular season with 15.5 sacks, the fifth-most in franchise history and the most since Aldon Smith's 19.5 back in 2012.

He finished behind Fred Dean (17.5 in 1983), Tim Harris (17.0 in 1992) and Charles Haley (16.0 in 1990).

Bosa might even have been higher on this list if he hadn't been slowed down toward the end of the season, registering just 0.5 sacks over the 49ers' last three games.

While he might have drawn the majority of attention from opposing offenses, his teammates were able to feast in Sunday's regular-season finale win over the Los Angeles Rams. Arik Armstead finished with 2.5 sacks, while D.J. Jones tallied one, and Fred Warner and Arden Key also were credited with a half-sack.

Bosa's solid rookie season is best remembered for his remarkable playoff run, in which he had four sacks in three postseason games, capped off by one of the best individual Super Bowl performances by a defensive player in recent memory.

The 49ers hope Bosa can similarly wreak havoc in this year's playoffs, as the 49ers begin their postseason quest by facing the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Game.

General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan hope Bosa will continue putting up seasons that land him in the franchise's record books, as the future looks incredibly bright for the 24-year-old.