SANTA CLARA — The 49ers stand atop the NFC West, but their ability to remain there got a lot more difficult with the new that edge rusher Nick Bosa was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

“You don’t just replace a guy like Nick,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday in conference call with local reporters. “Everyone’s got to keep getting better at everything, the same thing I’d be preaching if we did have Nick. When you lose your better players, things get harder.

“I expect all our players to get better as it goes, and that’s stressed that much more when you lose a great one like Nick.”

lt’s the second time Bosa has had nearly an entire season wiped out by an ACL injury. A more extensive tear in Week 2 in 2020 cost Bosa the rest of the season, a year in which the 49ers went 6-10 and also in

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