When the San Diego Chargers drafted defensive end Joey Bosa out of Ohio State University with the third-overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, the general consensus was that the Chargers were getting a player who could quickly become a premier performer at his position.
However, when Bosa made the decision to contractually holdout virtually the entirety of training camp, questions arose as to how long it will take the 6-foot-5, 280-pound collegiate standout to adjust to NFL game speed and technique.
As he’s appeared in the last three regular-season games for the Chargers, Bosa’s performance has quickly laid those questions to rest.
“Defensively, they’re very active,” Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said of the Chargers. “[DE Joey] Bosa is playing a big part right now so we’ll have to play a lot better than we did a couple of weeks ago, I know that.”
Bosa has already recorded an astounding four sacks and eleven tackles in his very young NFL career. While only one of those tackles and none of the four sacks came against Denver in the teams’ first go-around at Qualcomm Stadium earlier this month, Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian is very keen on what Bosa brings to the game and as well as to his defensive line unit.
“He’s physical, great with his hands, really good technique and he’s where they ask him to be,” Siemian said of Bosa. “Everybody compliments each other really well in that group up front and they do a lot of twisting, they get to the quarterback and they’re disruptive, no doubt.”
After his standout performance in the Chargers’ overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday, Bosa was named the NFL Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week.
“I think just affecting the quarterback and affecting the game is more important than any stat really,” Bosa told local San Diego media after practice on Friday. “You could have three sacks and honestly not have a great game and you could have zero sacks and have an amazing game so as long as you’re affecting the game and helping your defense, it’s a positive.”
Denver’s offensive unit performed well against the Houston Texans this past Monday night, putting up a respectable 27 points while giving up zero sacks and committing no turnovers. The Broncos’ ability to neutralize Bosa in both pass protection and run blocking will be essential for the team to obtain a similar outcome when the longtime AFC West divisional foes meet again this Sunday.
