LA Chargers: Justin Herbert and six Week 2 overreactions

Overreaction #3: Joey Bosa is emerging as a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

Make no mistake, the LA Chargers would not have had a shot in this game if they did not have Joey Bosa.

In this game, Bosa had his first sack against Patrick Mahomes, but that does not in any way demonstrate his impact in the game.

Throughout the game, Bosa terrorized Mahomes, forcing him into numerous early throws and throwaways.

Of course, we have seen this from Bosa before. In the past several years, Bosa has consistently pushed Mahomes into poor throws and throwaways, which has made games far closer than they should have been, despite big plays from Kansas City and several picks from Philip Rivers.

So what might make this year different from previous years?

There have been several factors limiting Bosa from being a true contender for this award. One key factor has been injuries. At this point, all we can do is hope for health, but Bosa’s production thus far has indicated that he is fully healthy.

Another key factor that is playing to Joey Bosa’s benefit this time is his supporting cast. While Bosa has always had Melvin Ingram playing to his opposite side, he finally has some interior help.

With Jerry Tillery continuing his sophomore resurgence and Linval Joseph plugging up the middle, Bosa will get double-teamed fewer times.

In the long term, that is going to make a difference on the stat sheet that gives Bosa a legitimate shot to win the Defensive Player of the Year title.

Verdict 3: Not an overreaction