There weren’t a lot of mistakes by the 49ers in their 27-10 romp against the Vikings in the divisional playoffs. One of them, a blindside block by Nick Bosa on Richard Sherman’s interception, cost the team 15 yards and cost the rookie defensive end some money.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero on Saturday tweeted Bosa was fined $28,075 for dropping a shoulder into the chest of Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill as O’Neill took off toward Sherman. O’Neill was taken off to be evaluated for a concussion after staying on the Levi’s Stadium turf.
The hit itself wasn’t to O’Neill’s head, but the blindside block is still dangerous, as evidenced by the right tackle’s exit from the game.
The NFL is trying to eliminate blindside blocks where a blocker peels back to hit an opponent while they’re not looking. It’s a player-safety matter that is going to get flagged and fined every time.
For Bosa, it was the first bad penalty he’d taken all year. One of the more impressive parts of his rookie-year performance has been his ability to not accumulate personal fouls. The blindside block is an avoidable play that Bosa and the 49ers defense won’t be able to get away with as the stakes rise in the NFC championship, and possibly the Super Bowl.
