San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa. Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Shanahan believes Nick Bosa should have DPOY locked up

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Jason Burgos | Last updated 12/29/22

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan believes his superstar edge rusher Nick Bosa is the NFL MVP on defense, even with two games remaining on the 2022 NFL schedule.

The 49ers have had a very unusual season on the offensive side of the ball. They started the year expecting to endure the ups and downs of having a young quarterback in Trey Lance leading the offense. However, his season was cut short after a few weeks due to a broken fibula.

Lance’s replacement and the team’s starter the last few seasons, Jimmy Garoppolo, was solid in relief but was also sidelined for the rest of the regular season with a Lisfranc injury. Despite those setbacks, the team has gotten outstanding play from third-string QB Brock Purdy and star trade acquisition, Christian McCaffrey.

While the team’s play on offense has been erratic at times due to key injuries, the 49ers are Super Bowl contenders in 2022 because of the elite play of their dffense. And three-time Pro Bowler Nick Bosa has played a massive role in their dominance. His play has been so good that his head coach think he has the NFL defensive player of the year award in the bag with two games to go.

Heading into Week 17, the 49ers lead the NFL in total yards allowed, they have the best rushing defense in the league and have also given up the fewest points on average this season. Nick Bosa has been the spark plug for a defensive unit that is one of the best in team history.

The four-year veteran earned Pro Bowl honors for the third time in 2022, and his 17.5 sacks are already a career-best with two more games left on the schedule.

The next two weeks could decide who receives NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors at the end of the season. However, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan thinks Nick Bosa could miss the final two games of the season and still be the easy choice for the league’s DPOY award. Shanahan shared his thoughts on the situation Wednesday, via ESPN's Adam Schefter.

“I feel like we could sit him these next two weeks and my mind would be blown if he wasn’t the defensive MVP. He’s been great.”
– Kyle Shanahan

In addition to his career-high sacks, he also surpassed his previous career high in QB hits this season (42) and he is only five tackles and four tackles for loss away from setting new NFL bests in those categories as well.

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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