SANTA CLARA -- Kyler Murray has been steadily improving since he entered the league, but so has 49ers star pass rusher Nick Bosa.
The Arizona Cardinals quarterback has had an impressive four weeks thus far. Murray has connected on 102 of his 134 attempts for 1274 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. His completion percentage of 76.1 leads the league.
Murray and Bosa entered the league in 2019, as the top two overall picks of the 2019 NFL Draft. Bosa has noticed the development of the one player drafted ahead of him, and knows facing the Cardinals will be one of the defense’s biggest challenges yet.
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“He’s been really good since he came in,” Bosa said on Thursday. “I think he’s just being a little smarter with the ball. He’s always been good at protecting himself and running, but not taking hits. It’s always a challenge.”
Bosa himself has taken steps forward since his rookie season. Not only does the edge rusher feel stronger physically, but he has streamlined his preparation for each game and simplified his technique on the field.
“Not wasting pass rushes, knowing what I do best,” Bosa said. “Using that and coming out with a mindset that I know what I’m going to do, I’m not going to try to come up with crazy game plans every week and try and be finesse and do all this stuff.”
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San Francisco 49ers
After a rough and frustrating game against the Green Bay Packers, Bosa bounced back facing the Seahawks. While the overall results still weren’t what the team wanted, starting the game forcing Seattle to punt in five straight series left Bosa feeling like it was 2019 all over again.
Bosa believes that the momentum the defense felt in Week 4 is something they need to try to recapture in every contest, especially when facing a mobile and dynamic quarterback like Murray.
“Whenever you feel like you can just beat up on somebody it gives you more confidence,” Bosa said. “You just keep going. We just got to do it a little longer because whenever you’re playing a really good quarterback it really doesn’t matter. He could make a few good plays and the game could be close.”