49ers' Nick Bosa, brother Joey named NFC, AFC Defensive Players of the Week

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The Bosa brothers were the best defensive players in their respective conferences in Week 8 of the NFL season.

Nick Bosa, 22, the 49ers’ rookie defensive end, was selected as the NFC Defensive Player of the Week, while older brother Joey, 24, was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Nick Bosa registered three sacks, along with a 46-yard interception return, in the 49ers’ 51-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers to win the NFC award for the second time this season. Bosa leads the 49ers with seven sacks in seven games.

“I don’t know if anyone expects it from a rookie to be like that,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said of the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.

“The challenge for him is always going to come back to consistency. Not just consistency of what he’s been doing, but consistency in terms of finding ways to be better so he can continually improve and keep linemen off kilter with regards to how they are going to approach him from game-to-game. He’s been doing a great job.”

Nick Bosa afterward credited defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead for collapsing the pocket and making his job easier.

“Whenever your moves are working really good, it’s just a good feeling,” he said. “Once you get a sack, really it just lets you calm down. Two of those sacks could have been Buckner’s easily. We’ve kind of gone back and forth giving each other sacks this year, so I’m lucky to have two interior guys who close the pocket so well.”

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Nick Bosa also won the award in Week 5 when he had two sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery against Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield.

On Sunday, Joey Bosa had seven tackles, two sacks and four tackles for losses in the Los Angeles Chargers’ 17-16 victory over the Chicago Bears. Joey Bosa, a fourth-year player, has seven sacks in eight games. The Chargers selected Joey Bosa with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Nick and Joey Bosa combined for five sacks on the day to set the NFL record for most sacks recorded by brothers in a day on which each earned at least one sack. The previous record was four, T.J. and J.J. Watt (Week 5, 2018) and Jimmy and Toby Williams (Week 2, 1985).

[RELATED: Simms explains what makes 49ers rookie Nick Bosa so special]

Nick Bosa was able to watch some of his brother’s game as he was going through a warmup routine in the pool at Levi’s Stadium with nose tackle D.J. Jones approximately 90 minutes before the 49ers kicked off.

“He was cheering on his brother, man,” Jones said. “It was pretty cool to see. He saw his brother get a sack. He saw his brother get a TFL (tackle for loss), and he was cheering him on. Then, he goes out there and does what he did (Sunday).”

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