If you don’t have an effective plan for Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa, he can ruin your day.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is well aware of that. And with New England taking on Los Angeles this weekend, Belichick called Bosa a “one-man wrecking crew” on Wednesday.
Though the Chargers fell to the Bills in Week 12, Bosa practically lived in Buffalo’s backfield. He finished the game with 3.0 sacks, five quarterback hits, and a staggering six tackles for loss. Plus, Bosa had one pass defensed and a fumble recovery.
“I think he does everything well, really,” Belichick said, via Chris Mason of Mass Live. “If you just look at the Buffalo game, he made plays against the run, he made plays on short yardage, he rushed the passer in passing situations, he sacked the quarterback on play-action situations where he converted a run read into a play-action rush. He’s very instinctive. He’s got a tremendous motor. He plays hard. He never gives up on a play. He makes a lot of plays on effort and hustle.”
Bosa missed two games with a concussion this season, but has still recorded 7.5 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, and 14 tackles for loss. As Belichick put it, Bosa is “one of the most disruptive players in the league.”
“As good as anybody we play against,” Belichick said. “Most of the time it’s him making the play, but a lot of the time it’s him screwing the play up and forcing the ball to somebody else. So he’s definitely a guy to stop.”
It’s a difficult task, but one the Patriots will have to accomplish. Otherwise, Bosa has proven he’ll wreak havoc on an offense.