Joey Bosa shows just how badly he wants to win in Chargers' season opener vs. Raiders

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Joey Bosa took a pay cut to return to the Los Angeles Chargers for 2024, and since that point, he has been direct about his motivation entering his ninth NFL season. “I want to win,” Bosa said in the spring.

Bosa restructuring his contract spoke volumes about his mentality this offseason. As he said, “Winning football games is more important to me right now than making some extra money.” Advertisement Now, Bosa’s determination is evident in his play.



Bosa was dominant in the Chargers’ 22-10 win over the Las Vegas in Sunday’s season opener. He had a sack and a forced fumble, and his seven combined tackles were tied with safety Derwin James Jr. for the most on the team.

The counting stats, though, were less telling than how Bosa played. GO DEEPER Jim Harbaugh's vision materializes in Chargers' physical debut win over Raiders His effort sparked and elevated the defense in several key moments in the game. It’s one thing to say you want to win.

It’s another thing entirely to show it. “It’s accountability, and you’re seeing it from him,” James said in the locker room at SoFi Stadium on Sunday night. “He wants to win, bro.

He don’t want to just keep playing and being around bulls—.” Bosa made an impact from the first defensive series. The Raiders faced a third-and-1 on the third play of that drive.

They ran outside zone to the right, away from Bosa. At the snap, Raiders receiver Jacobi Myers tried to seal off Bosa. But Bosa read the play and reacted too quickly.

He slipped past Myers untouched and dropped running back Zamir White for no gain from the back side of the play. Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. document.

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forEach((el) => { el.setAttribute("style", "pointer-events: none;");}) Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Early in the second quarter, the Raiders faced a third-and-3.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew II took the shotgun snap. As he dropped back, a hole opened up in the middle of the offensive line. Minshew escaped through the vacated space.

He had a clear lane to the first down on a scramble. Bosa had been rushing off the offense’s left side. Just as Minshew took off, Bosa dove full extension.

His hands just tripped up Minshew’s feet, and the quarterback went down short of the sticks. The Raiders punted. On the next drive, Bosa had a sack on a stunt to the inside on third-and-22.

He timed this twist inside perfectly. On the opening drive of the third quarter, Bosa had another third-down stop. This time, Minshew tried to scramble to his left on a third-and-3.

Bosa had been knocked to the middle of the field by a chip block from tight end Michael Mayer . When Bosa recognized Minshew was scrambling, he took off for the sideline. Bosa, on a dead sprint, met Minshew and knocked him out of bounds.

Advertisement On the ensuing drive, Bosa forced his fumble, chasing down White from behind. Bosa was again on the back side of the play, away from the direction of the run. He funneled to White and knocked the ball loose with a diving punch.

It turned what would have been an explosive run into another possession for the offense. Coach Jim Harbaugh said this play reminded him of former 49ers defensive end Justin Smith. “He was great against the run and unblockable in the pass,” Harbaugh said of Bosa.

“Huge game.” Later in the third quarter, Bosa chased down Minshew again from behind on a scramble up the middle. Minshew managed just 3 yards on the rush.

That set up a a third-and-7, and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was able to call a blitz in the known-pass situation. The Chargers defense forced a throwaway on that play. “He was playing like a beast,” James said.

In the first eight seasons after Bosa was drafted with the No. 3 pick in 2016, the Chargers went 62-69 in the regular season. Bosa has made the playoffs in just two of those eight seasons.

He has only won one playoff game. He has never played in a conference championship game. Bosa is desperate to know what it feels like to win in the NFL .

Even further, he wants to get there with Khalil Mack , who was equally dominant Sunday, leading the Chargers with 1 1/2 sacks and five pressures. Bosa and Mack have developed a genuine friendship over the past 2 1/2 years after Mack joined the Chargers in a trade with the Chicago Bears . “I’m riding with him regardless,” Mack said of Bosa last week.

“Football is just football. But in the game of life, you want to be there for your brother. So I just want him to know that I’m always there for him.

” They have grown close despite not playing that many snaps together. Bosa played in just 14 of a possible 34 regular season games in 2022 and 2023 because injuries. He tore his groin in Week 3 of 2022.

He suffered a season-ending foot sprain in Week 11 last season. Advertisement “It’s really been a shame to not be able to get that chemistry going for more games with everything that’s gone on over the last couple years,” Bosa said last week. “But I’m really looking forward to this year.

I’m happy to get another shot. I think us both coming back shows what we want. We want to win.

We want to play on a great team together, and we feel that there’s something special that can be forged here. I’m grateful to have him in my life, and hopefully we can have at least one great year — but maybe a couple more.” Pick up The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations & everything you need to know to win your fantasy football league.

Pick up The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations. At the start of training camp, Bosa said that “some people have forgotten the player I can be.” Injuries are a factor.

Lack of team success is a factor. After Sunday, Bosa is on his way to, as he put it in July, “proving people wrong.” “He’s that player,” Harbaugh said.

“I saw it in the production, in the tackles, in the hustle.” On his way. Not there yet.

Bosa knows better than most players how long a season is and what can go wrong. He’s not jaded, just wiser. Bosa had 1 1/2 sacks in a season-opening win over the Raiders in 2022.

Two weeks later, he tore the groin on a pass rush against the Jacksonville Jaguars . He did not return for close to four months. “We’ve won a lot of first games of the year,” Bosa said Sunday night.

“I can remember a lot of them. I come in here with a sack feeling great. And then things don’t always work out exactly as you plan.

That’s not how I see this going at all. But I don’t want to jump to any conclusions after one week.” (Top photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images).