SANTA CLARA — Before launching into an expansive 229-word answer that dealt with the disappointment of the 49ers losing Super Bowl LIV to the Kansas City Chiefs, 49ers CEO Jed York opened with the following sentence when asked what he remembered about the 31-20 loss in Miami:
“I remember Nick Bosa getting held on third-and-long, and that not getting called,” York said Thursday during a press conference with local reporters.
In Kansas City, they celebrate the 44-yard completion from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill that got the Chiefs on their way from a 20-10 deficit to the eventual victory. In the Bay Area, aside from wondering how Hill could get so open, fans can’t forget Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher having his arm draped around Bosa, a rookie defensive end who was closing on Mahomes.
The loss was four years ago.
“It seems like a pretty good amount of time ago,” Bosa said. “A lot has happened.”
The way the game ended didn’t prevent Bosa from sharing his feelings about what was mostly a dominant 49ers defense. Initially reluctant to watch the game to avoid reliving the pain, Bosa has since rolled the tape.
“I’ve watched it. I start sweating a little bit,” Bosa said. “But it’s fun to watch. Ours is a Super Bowl defense right there and we have to take a page out of that if we want to win it.”
Asked directly about the non-holding call, Bosa said, “I don’t think they had the back view. But yeah, it was Eric Fisher.”
As usual when Bosa speaks, his thoughts came with a low-key delivery. As one of the premiere edge rushers in the NFL, being held is an every-game occurrence whether the whistle blows or not. It’s worth noting that when the 49ers came back in August of 2020 for training camp after losing to the Chiefs, Bosa wasn’t blaming the officials during a Zoom call with local media.
“If they think it’s holding, it’s holding. It could have been, it could not have been. It’s what he thinks,” Bosa said. “I’m not going to say that’s the reason we lost the game.”
Fast forward to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium. The 49ers practiced Thursday and will again Friday and Saturday before departing on Sunday. Bosa is a wise old veteran of 26. Fisher last played in 2022 for the Dolphins.
The new tackles for the Chiefs are Donovan Smith on the left side and Jawaan Taylor on the right. Bosa’s scouting report?
“They hold a lot,” Bosa said.
Smith has four holding penalties this season, with Taylor having eight. By contrast, 49ers’ All-Pro tackle Trent Williams has five holding penalties and right tackle Colton McKivitz just one.
Rather than zero in on a game four years ago, Bosa will pay closer attention to last year’s 44-23 win by the Chiefs at Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 23. The 49ers trailed 14-13 at halftime but the game got away from them in the second half as Mahomes was 25 of 34 for 423 yards, three touchdowns and was sacked just once.
“There’s definitely some things I need to be ready for because they were game-planning for me a little bit for that game,” Bosa said. “I have to be ready for the things (Chiefs coach) Andy Reid will do. We were playing good ball. It’s about playing four quarters. Some of the cuts and chips I need to be ready for.”
