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Bosa suggests the 49ers’ defense wasn’t ready for the Chiefs.
LAS VEGAS — Could the 49ers’ defense have been more prepared for Super Bowl LVIII?
Nick Bosa appears to think so.
There was complete raw emotion from all players after their heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but there also were a few hints of what the All-Pro thought about defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ game plan.
In two of Bosa’s responses to reporters during his postgame media availability, the star edge rusher insinuated that the defense, as a group, could have been more prepared. That responsibility falls directly in the lap of the first-year coordinator.
“The zone read got us a couple of times,” Bosa said. “We could have been more prepared there. We have to know in crucial situations who is going to have the ball, and obviously it’s him. He had a scramble down the middle on that last drive.”
Bosa was referring to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who scrambled twice to convert on Kansas City’s game-winning touchdown drive during overtime. The quarterback registered an 8-yard run in a fourth-and-1 situation, and then again found a wide-open lane for a 15-yard dash up the middle of the field on third-and-1 just a few plays later.
“He is who he is for a reason,” Bosa said of Mahomes. “You have to keep your confidence up and not anticipate him to make these plays. But there were some where I think, if obviously we could get them back, we would have been more prepared.”