The Buffalo Bills capped off one of the most incredible comebacks in recent NFL history to wrap up Sunday's slate of Week 1 action. The win was so great that former LA Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa exclaimed he as never felt as happy to win a game as he was on Sunday night.
It was a joyous moment for Bosa, who watched Josh Allen carry the offense to make up for a lackluster defensive performance. The Baltimore Ravens still dropped 40 points on the Bills, and Bosa was a contributing factor as to why.
Bosa was seemingly targeted by the Ravens in a way that looked all too familiar for Chargers fans. Bosa struggled mightily against the Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry option play, and did not look like the edge rusher the Bills thought they were getting.
Bills needed just one game to learn what Chargers already knew about Joey Bosa
Bosa simply is not the player he used to be, nor the player his namesake suggests he is. Many fans would assume just because of his pedigree that Bosa is still one of the best edge rushers in the league. That is not the case.
Bosa isn't a bad edge rusher and he certainly still brings value on the defensive side of the ball. However, he is nowhere close to the level he was several years ago before the injuries started to mount.
The 2024 season was the first time this came to the light for Chargers fans. In the years prior, Bosa was limited as he hardly played due to his recurring injuries. In 2024, while he still missed some time with injury, Bosa put together enough of a sample size to prove that he is indeed regressing.
The numbers support the eye test as well. Bosa posted the worst Pro Football Focus grade of his career and finished with just 34 pressures in 315 pass-rushing snaps (10.8%). To compare, in his last fully healthy season in 2021, Bosa recorded 69 pressures in 468 pass rush snaps (14.7%). And even the 2021 version of Bosa wasn't the best version.
The fact of the matter is that Bosa is past his prime as a pass rusher and has some holes on run defense that can be exposed by the right team. The Ravens certainly knew to run at Bosa, and the results spoke for themselves.
Thankfully for Bosa, Allen clutched up and the vibes are at an all-time high with Bills fans. Bosa's performance certainly isn't a reason why.