From the trot, to the three swings to the planting, Nick Bosa's timing was perfect. The only thing missing was a flag. It was one of few times Monday night that Bosa's hands weren't full.
Baker Mayfield, the individual whom Bosa was mimicking with the gesture, served as a pretty good stand-in otherwise.
"I think everybody knows what that was for," Bosa said after his 49ers demolished the Browns31-3, per The Plain Dealer. "Just wanted to get payback. He had it coming."
For two years, apparently. In September of 2017, moments after his Oklahoma Sooners beat Bosa's Ohio State Buckeyes, Mayfield took to midfield with a Sooners flag and intentionally grounded it into the Buckeyes' "O" logo.
A side by side of the two demonstrations shows Bosa being almost perfectly in sync with Mayfield. Bosa said he didn't rehearse his reenactment, his dish of revenge simply served cold.
"The image was in my head pretty good so I kind of had a good idea," Bosa said.
The 49ers rookie defensive end knew his opponent just as well, leading the charge against Mayfield with two sacks, five quarterback hits, one forced fumble, one recovered, and one indelible impression. The flag-planting didn't follow a sack but rather a knockdown, in which Mayfield got the ball out just in time to earn an intentional grounding.
Still, the highlight served as a microcosm for the 49ers' dominant display on the defensive line.
"I got a lot of one-on-one opportunities tonight and I knew I could win them," Bosa said. "Having Dee (Ford) burning off the edge, inside guys, (Armstead), (Buckner) just closing in on Baker, Baker couldn't see anything downfield. Some of my sacks should go to them."
San Francisco collected four of them, as well as two interceptions and a fumble recovery, while holding Mayfield to 100 yards on 8-of-22 passing.
"I don't know how anybody thought (Mayfield) would be able to see over Arik (Armstead) and (DeForest Buckner), but he was panicking," Bosa said, per the Sacramento Bee. "He was double clutching, rolling back and forth, we had him rattled all game."
Bosa admitted afterward he was in Mayfield's ear as much as anyone throughout a forgettable evening for the Browns quarterback. Bosa, of course, hadn't forgotten about Mayfield's actions in Columbus two years ago.
"I don't usually talk, but this game he had it coming," Bosa said. "He didn't say one word back."
It's not often Mayfield has been kept quiet both on and off the field.
