Bosa explains why controversial roughing penalty made sense originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SEATTLE — Defensive end Nick Bosa appeared to have a quarterback pressure that led to a pick six for 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
However, the celebration did not last long.
Instead of the 49ers extending their lead to 28-3, referee Alex Kemp flagged Bosa for roughing the passer and paced off a 15-yard penalty.
The penalty was controversial, for sure. But Bosa did not seem to disagree with the flag for his hit on Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith.
After all, the NFL considers it a penalty when a defensive player lands on top of the quarterback with “all or most of the defender’s weight.”
“I landed on him,” Bosa said. “I don’t know, I thought he still had the ball, so I was kind of thinking about it while I was going to the ground, whether he had the ball or not.
“I forgot to roll off. I’m usually better at doing that. It was a good call, I guess.”
That play was at the front of Bosa’s mind later that drive when he sacked Smith and, this time, made sure to avoid anything close to what could have been interpreted as unnecessary roughness.
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Bosa took the NFL lead with 15.5 sacks and tied his career-high of last season.
He became the third player (Richard Dent and Andre Tippett are the others) to register 15 or more sacks in consecutive seasons before turning 26 years old.