SANTA CLARA – Nick Bosa looked like himself as he lined up wide of the right tackle and blasted past the line of scrimmage on power and speed rushes against the Dolphins at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
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He finally felt like himself, too, in San Francisco’s 35-13 victory over perhaps the worst team in the league.
Bosa made it only 14 plays into last season’s home opener against the Arizona Cardinals before tearing the ACL in his right knee. Nearly a year to the day, the 49ers’ captain played his first game in Santa Clara since the injury.
“It felt amazing, and the atmosphere was great,” Bosa said.
He had two run stuffs and a quarterback hit while overseas, and finished his day against Miami with three tackles.
Bosa, 28, has had gaudier statistical outputs, and flashier hits and run-stuffing takedowns. But when taking just his ability to withstand the grind of a run-heavy Dolphins attack into consideration, this was Bosa’s coming out party.
“I felt a lot better this week physically, and (like) my knee adapted after the first game,” Bosa said, referring to the 49ers’ season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia. “I felt like myself.”
With the game against the Dolphins well in hand, the 49ers pulled Bosa midway through the fourth quarter. The 49ers defense has allowed only two touchdowns through two weeks.
The lopsided score hid how easily Miami moved the ball in the first half. The 49ers defense bent, but did not break in a grueling first half that saw them remain on the field for 19:17 and 33 plays.
“We let a few of those drives go longer than we had hoped, and probably the No. 1 (thing we need to) get better (at) is stopping the run,” Bosa said.
The Dolphins converted on five third downs and one fourth down, but when the visitors closed in on the end zone, defenders stepped up to get the critical stop.
“I liked the fight, never lacking in effort and tenacity,” said Fred Warner, who had five tackles and half a sack. “But things could’ve been cleaner across the board from an execution standpoint.”
Opposite of Bosa, edge rusher Romello Height chased Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis out of bounds around the 10 yard line on third down to force a field goal with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
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It was not quite how the rookie out of Texas Tech dreamed his first NFL sack would unfold, but he wasn’t going to complain about securing a stop.
“It was a great feeling … the best feeling in the world,” Height said.
The hosts had four sacks, the most the team has had in a single game since taking down Jacoby Brissett six times in a victory over the New England Patriots on Sept. 29, 2024. Upton Stout split a sack with Warner, and Keion White had another takedown of Willis.
At halftime, the 49ers coaching staff honed in on cleaning up a few technical errors the team committed.
“It was about everybody just being there mentally, doing their jobs and knowing their alignment and assignment,” Height said. “Those things were critical in the second half, and I feel like we did that.”
But perhaps it was not so complicated.
Hard-hitting safety Marquis Sigle, who finished the day with six tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a quarterback hit, remarked that the second-half turnaround was predicated on one quality.
“One thing we always preach about is violence,” Sigle said. “I don’t think any team’s like us, especially with how physical we play.”
After allowing 84 rushing yards on 20 carries to a De’Von Achane-led Dolphins ground game, the 49ers surrendered just 18 on nine attempts in the second half.
Having slowed down the Dolphins, the efficient 49ers offense continued to torch. They scored touchdowns on their first three drives after halftime to turn the competitive matchup into the predicted rout.
Before turning his focus to next week’s home game against the Cardinals, Bosa plans on breaking down the tape of his day against the Dolphins.
He made it clear he would not be patting himself on the back for making his return to Levi’s Stadium.
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“I’ll do it on my own tonight, and I’ll be hard on myself,” Bosa said.
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