SANTA CLARA http://www.49erslockerroom.com/authentic-roger-craig-jersey , Calif. (AP) — Generating pressure on the quarterback has never been a major problem for DeForest Buckner since entering the NFL in 2016. Turning that pressure into sacks, however, was missing his first two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.Buckner has finally started to put the whole package together this season, becoming one of the league’s top inside rushers and justifying the 49ers’ first-round investment made a few years ago.Buckner recorded two more sacks last week against Seattle’s Russell Wilson, giving him 11 on the season to join Aldon Smith as the only 49ers players to reach double-digits in sacks in the past 16 seasons.After recording just nine sacks total in his first two seasons, Buckner set a goal of reaching double-digits this year. He’s done that with two games to spare and earned Pro Bowl alternate honors for his work.“I knew I could do it and I worked my tail off in the offseason to get there,” he said. “I’d like to thank most of my teammates. It’s not one guy, it’s the whole unit up front rushing as a team. Eventually if you rush as a team, someone will get rewarded.”That player has been Buckner so often this year after his work as a rusher often went overlooked his first two seasons when he didn’t pile up the sacks.Buckner had 76 quarterback pressures his first two seasons, according to SportRadar, a number that put him near the top among players who primarily rush the passer from the inside instead of the edge.But of the 60 players in the league who had at least 50 pressures during 2015-16, only six had fewer sacks than the nine Buckner recorded, a cause of much frustration.This year, the sacks have started to come, with Buckner recording 6 1/2 sacks the past six games, including four in two meetings against the elusive Wilson.“It’s really just taking advantage of the one-on-ones I get and also finding a way through double teams,” he said. “There were a couple of times this year I got a sack through double teams. It’s just finding that extra step and finishing.”This production is coming at just the right time for Buckner, who will go into the final year of his rookie contract in 2019. If San Francisco can’t reach a long-term deal with Buckner this offseason, the organization will undoubtedly exercise the fifth-year option to keep Buckner in place through 2020 Garry Gilliam Jersey White , but reaching a deal for longer will assuredly be a priority once the season is over.Coach Kyle Shanahan said having a player like Buckner who can provide that inside push only makes the entire defense better.“You can have guys get up the field all day and if there’s nothing in the middle, all the quarterback has to do is step up and just let those guys run around them and have a true pocket,” he said. “Even if the tackles aren’t truly blocking the guys one-on-one, just stay inside out, run them up the field and tell the quarterback not to get deep. That’s extremely hard when you have guys on the inside. You tell them not to get deep, but guys are in his face so you either run into them or get balls tipped or you back up and that’s when the edge guys get sack fumbles.”NOTES: LB Mark Nzeocha (groin) and T Joe Staley (not injury related) didn’t practice. … RB Matt Breida (ankle), S Antone Exum (hip), C Weston Richburg (knee), LB Malcolm Smith (Achilles), S Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder) and CB K’Waun Williams (knee) were limited. … The Niners signed WR Jordan Smallwood to the practice squad. Fans typically look for honesty from the members of the team, let it be coaches or players, but rarely do they receive openness from their favorite teams. At the end of the year press conference two weeks ago, 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan might have let out too much, admitting something that fans spend way too much time dwelling on — the “What If” scenarios?Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were asked about their expectations for 2018 and how their performance pales in comparison to those preseason wishes. Here is the 49ers’ head coach’s response:It’s not often that one hears a coach say “we should” have done this, but it was refreshing to hear Shanahan open up with the media. But how factually accurate was his statement? Should the San Francisco 49ers have finished the season 7-9?Let’s try and decode which three games that Shanahan is referring to and see what the 49ers could have done differently in each of those to come away victorious instead. Looking down their schedule, the 49ers lost five games by five points or less, so it must be one of those games. These close losses were at the Chargers, at the Packers, at the Cardinals http://www.49erslockerroom.com/authentic-ahkello-witherspoon-jersey , vs. the Giants and vs. the Bears. Chargers 29 - 49ers 27Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesThis loss is one that’s sure to irk Shanahan and one that he thinks the 49ers should have in the W column. San Francisco went up 27-26 off of the right foot of kicker Robbie Gould and the 49ers’ defense was able to hold quarterback Phillip Rivers and the Chargers’ offense to three points on the next drive, making it 29-27, Chargers. The 49ers’ offense had two more chances, one being a three-and-out and the other being a C.J. Beathard interception that ended the game. After being up for a majority of the game, the 49ers allowed the Chargers to rally back in the game and couldn’t hold them off.Cardinals 18 - 49ers 15Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesThe next loss that probably still keeps Shanahan up at night is probably the second Cardinals’ loss, where the Cardinals took the lead late in the fourth quarter and that was the difference in the game. With 11:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals had only scored three points, were showing no signs of life and were down two possessions to the 49ers. That’s when it flipped, as the Cardinals scored two touchdowns, with no response from the 49ers and it all ended on a third-and-goal pass to wide out Christian Kirk to seal the game with 1:42 left in the game. The 49ers’ fourth-quarter offense was pathetic and something Shanahan would probably want back if he could go back in time.Giants 27 - 49ers 23Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesThe Monday Night Football showdown against the Giants at Levi’s Stadium is surely one the 49ers coach would want to avenge. With 2:46 left in the game, the 49ers were up 23-20, kicking the ball back to quarterback Eli Manning and Co. The Giants had not shown life all season long and with the 49ers’ home crowd behind them, most expected the defense to be able to stop Manning. With 53 seconds left, Manning was able to find wide receiver Sterling Shepard for a touchdown. Quarterback Nick Mullens tried to drive the ball down for the 49ers, but it was too little too late. Playing the hypothetical game doesn’t help now, but it gives great insight into what Shanahan thinks the 49ers are capable of doing late in these games. It’s been the story of the 49ers’ seasons since Lynch and Shanahan took over — the late-game collapses. Hopefully in 2019, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and Shanahan don’t leave these 50-50 games in the air and are able to seal the deal late.