Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa has the skillset and motor to single-handily change a game, and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick knows it.
"You have to know where he is on every play," Belichick said Friday before New England's Week 8 game against the Chargers. "I think if you go back to the Buffalo game last year, he single-handedly changed the game. He almost changed the outcome of the game almost by himself."
Belichick, of note, was referencing a Week 11 game last season where Bosa recorded three sacks, six tackles for loss, five quarterback hits and one fumble recovery. Bosa's fourth-quarter fumble recovery, specifically, got the Chargers the ball back while trailing by one touchdown and 10 minutes left, but LA wasn't able to pull it out.
It was perhaps the best individual example of Bosa's dominance given the fact the former first-rounder has only recorded three sacks in one game during his six-year career. He's recorded one sack and two tackles for loss in two games against the Patriots.
"He's an impact player. It's not just the negative plays, but the turnovers, the strip sacks, the batted balls, the plays like that that he makes," Belichick said. "The tackles from behind where he strips the ball out. Things like that. Then you commit attention to him, and that creates other problems in other spots. He's a tough matchup and Coach (Brandon) Staley does a good job with him. They move around a little bit, and they bring five (pass rushers) a lot, so it's hard to double him. When you have five blocking four, you might have a chance to get some help to him, but when it's five blocking five, then it really makes it difficult."
The Patriots have both center David Andrews and guard Shaq Mason listed as questionable ahead of the contest. Mason has been dealing with an abdomen ailment, and left New England's Week 7 rout of the New York Jets early because of it. Offensive tackle Trent Brown, who hasn't played since Week 1, won't play either as he remains on injured reserve.
It will make the headache of limiting Bosa all the more difficult.
"There are definitely some challenges that he presents, and, within scheme, that compounds it," Belichick said. "He's a major problem."
The Patriots will take on the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday with kickoff set for 4:05 p.m. ET.
