Bosa's celebration, advanced stats show star's impact vs. Raiders

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By just viewing a basic box score from the 49ers' 37-34 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, it doesn't appear star pass rusher Nick Bosa made any impact in Week 17.

Linebacker Fred Warner led San Francisco with 12 total tackles. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead had the team's only tackle for loss. Safety Tashaun Gipson and rookie Drake Jackson both notched interceptions in Las Vegas quarterback Jarrett Stidham's first start.

Bosa, the front-runner to win Defensive Player of the Year, didn't have a single tackle, solo or assisted. He didn't post a sack for just the third time all season. But those goose eggs could not be more misleading in representing how Bosa played at Allegiant Stadium.

The advanced stats and the eye test tell the true story. Bosa finished with seven quarterback pressures and five quarterback hits (per Next Gen Stats), including the game-winning rush in overtime that threw left tackle Kolton Miller into Stidham's throwing path and caused a wobbly pass for Gipson's interception.

“I flipped sides on the play,” Bosa told NBC Sports' Peter King following the win. "The Raiders were sliding protection to me and Arik [Armstead], so I made that switch in overtime.”

Based on Bosa's reaction, he recognized the havoc wreaked in the Raiders' backfield. Bosa appeared to know one of his teammates would come down with the pick. Gipson caught the floater and ran it back 56 yards to set up kicker Robbie Gould's game-winning field goal in overtime.

Like the box score, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan didn't see Bosa's game-changing pass rush. He was watching the football float in the air, hoping one of his players would be standing below it for the turnover. But he had a feeling who was behind the disruption.

"It was awesome because I saw how the ball came out, so I knew someone must have done it, and I would've guessed probably Bosa," Shanahan said after the win. "But it was great for Gip to finish it. Bosa just started it, and not only that, get the return so we could just send in Robbie."

Despite not recording a sack in Las Vegas, Bosa remains the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. He still owns a comfortable lead atop the NFL sack leaderboard with 17.5, already a career mark and 1.5 more than Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick in second place.

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“Just being in the conversation means a lot to me,” Bosa told King. “Since I was 3 years old, this is what I wanted to do. Winning the award does cross my mind, but I try to keep my mind on my job.”

It's a cliche to say the box score doesn't tell the whole story of an NFL game. But that was the case Sunday, as Bosa failed to advance his chase of the 49ers' single-season franchise sacks record (19.5) but succeeded in securing the team's ninth straight victory.

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