During Week 2 of the 2020–21 NFL season, Solomon Thomas, a crucial defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers at the time, suffered a severe setback on the same MetLife Stadium turf that had just moments before claimed teammate Nick Bosa. Without making any serious contact, Thomas went down clutching his knee on a routine play against the New York Jets. It was quickly determined that he had suffered a torn ACL, effectively ending his season. Early in the season, the 49ers had to rearrange their defensive line after Thomas's loss dealt a serious blow to their defense, which was aiming for the Super Bowl. This injury, which happened on the same turf, became the main discussion topic in the expanding controversy surrounding artificial turf's impact on player injuries in the same game as Bosa's. Players' calls for the NFL to switch from synthetic turf to natural grass were heightened by the setbacks of Solomon and Bosa, underscoring the continuous conflict between player safety and stadium convenience.