SANTA CLARA -- The bye week turned into a staycation for 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, who remained in the Bay Area when a lot of his teammates scattered across the country.
“I hung in town, just trained, really, rested my body and made sure all the little things that were ailing me went away to start strong in the second half,” Bosa said.
The 49ers come out of their bye week with the most anticipated game of the season for the Bosa family on Sunday night at Levi's Stadium.
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However, the game loses some of its luster with Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa out after undergoing surgery to repair a bilateral core muscle injury.
Joey Bosa is approximately 5 1/2 weeks into an anticipated 8-to-10 week recovery.
"I’ve watched them for seven or eight years now,” Nick Bosa said of the Chargers, who selected his older brother in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
“(I) definitely cheered for them for a long time, for Joey. It’s going to be fun to play them. I wish he was out there.”
San Francisco 49ers
The surgery Joey Bosa underwent is nearly identical to the procedure that ended Nick Bosa’s college career at Ohio State in 2018. Nick said he has relayed to his brother some of the issues he experienced along the way during his recovery.
“It’s a pretty easy one, honestly, to come back from,” Nick Bosa said. “It takes time but I think he’ll be better than he ever was when he comes back.”
The Bosa brothers are at or near the top of the class when it comes to NFL pass-rushers. In 82 regular-season games, Joey has 59.5 sacks and 298 tackles. In 42 games, Nick has 33 sacks and 128 tackles.
Nick Bosa is tied with Minnesota’s Za’Darius Smith for second in the NFL with 8.5 sacks. New England’s Matt Judon leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks.
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Nick Bosa said he comes off the bye week feeling good about his combination of work and rest last week to get him ready for the final stretch of the season.
“I’m just trying to get everything back to feeling good and I think I did a really good job of that,” he said. “So I’m feeling fresh.”