Amid a surprising two-game losing streak and a barrage of injuries to the most important players on the offense, the San Francisco 49ers now are being asked the questions that normally come when a team faces adversity. As the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the highest paid defensive player in NFL history, and the leader of the Niners defense, Nick Bosa is one of the men in the San Francisco locker room who is expected to provide those answers.

Nick Bosa didn't get that rich new contract without a holdout that prevented him from participating in a full training camp and preseason, and because he has only tallied 2.5 sacks through the first seven games of the season, the questions coming his way are related to how that missed time has affected him. And to his credit, Bosa isn't running away from the questions.

“I think a little bit,” Bosa told reporters at his locker when asked if the missed work over the summer had contributed to his slow start. He continued, saying. “I think I’m trying to work on stuff on the run this year that I wasn’t able to do in camp. So, those games that I mentioned, the two, I think I was thinking too much because I was trying to add something to my rush plan which is not what I want to be doing during season. I want to be locked in on what I do best and just doing it throughout the whole year. But there’s no excuse at this point for that,” (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk).

Nick Bosa and the 49ers look to turn things around this Sunday against the rested Cincinnati Bengals who have won two straight games following a disappointing 1-3 start to the season.