LA Chargers: Five keys to beating Bill Belichick’s Patriots
5. Joey Bosa can’t do it all himself
Joey Bosa‘s stat line from the Buffalo game was ridiculous. A three sack game is amazing considering there was no real pressure that came consistently from the other pieces on the line.
That being said, Bosa can’t do it all himself. The Patriots have slowed down Bosa before, most recently in the AFC Divisional Playoff game from 2019. Marcus Cannon opted out of the 2020 season, but they haven’t missed much of a beat at the tackle position. Jermaine Eluemunor has been really good this season and Michael Onwenu has been playing like one of the best tackles in the league.
The offensive line culture that former coach Dante Scarnecchia built there is still very much in place. If Uchenna Nwosu can’t go, Jerry Tillery will need to have a better day on the edge. At any rate, he needs to get back to the level of pass rush pressure he was applying about a month ago.
Whoever ends up playing LEO and the interior needs to get after the quarterback at a higher clip to fill the Melvin Ingram sized hole there. Since Denzel Perryman is likely out in this game as well, this D-Line will need to step up when it comes to stopping the run as well.
They can’t allow as many runs to reach the second level consistently without their best run-stopping linebacker.
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The Chargers know they’ll get a quality Bosa performance, but it’s up to Tillery and the rest of the line to try to get home on Newton and stop the run.