Ohio State Football: How Nick Bosa can win Super Bowl MVP

Former Ohio State DE Nick Bosa has been dominant in his rookie year with the San Francisco 49ers, but does he have what it takes to become the Super Bowl MVP?

With Super Bowl LIV just eight days away, could San Francisco 49ers and former Ohio State DE Nick Bosa win the Most Valuable Player award. Could he be a good bet to win it?

Will he become just the third defensive end to win the award? You might not want to bet against it.

His time at Ohio State was cut short because of a core injury early in his junior season, but nonetheless Nick Bosa made his presence felt. Leaving Columbus with 47 solo tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks in 2+ seasons, the younger Bosa brother was a force to be reckoned with.

Even after only playing 2 1/2 games in his final collegiate season after suffering an injury, the San Francisco 49ers saw in Bosa what most Ohio State fans had seen over his first two college seasons. A Bosa who could turn out to be the best in a talented family who was made for this stage.

His father John was a first-round pick as was his brother Joey, so when the 49ers took Nick with the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft there was little surprise. And now through his rookie season and the first two playoff games, Nick has already shown himself to be better than both family members who came before him, in their rookie seasons at least.

Joey had more sacks in his rookie season (10.5 to Nick’s 9), but Nick has had more solo tackles (32 to 29), and his impact has reached further. The 49ers have gone from 4-12 to 13-3 and a berth in the Super Bowl.

The youngest Bosa will face the toughest test of his young career next Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs who rank in the top 10 in almost every key offensive stat category. QB Patrick Mahomes will be a major challenge, and Nick told reporters Thursday he turned to Joey, who plays against the Chiefs twice a year, for advice on how to stop the young gunslinger and the rest of their offense.

For Nick to win the MVP in Super Bowl LIV, the game will likely have to be more of a defensive battle than an offensive explosion. Even if that’s not the case, fast-paced games can often lead to a lot of sacks in the hectic atmosphere, or can set up for a situation when the defense needs to make a huge stop to clinch the win.

For Nick to add the MVP to what should be a special 2020 trophy case (Pro Bowl selection, surely Defensive Rookie of the Year and likely Defensive Player of the Year), he will have to put up impressive numbers. Think 2-3 sacks, 4-5 TFLs and possibly forcing a turnover.

But if he has an average game and makes a sack on fourth-and-goal with the Chiefs down by five in the closing seconds, the award should be his.

The odds on Bosa being the MVP in the Super Bowl, per The Action Network, is +5,000. That seems like a good bet for the way he is capable of impacting a game.

A defensive player hasn’t won the award since Von Miller in Super Bowl 50 in 2016. But if there is a year when it could happen, it’s this year with Nick Bosa.