This 49ers star presents ‘nightmare’ matchup for Patriots, says Van Pelt originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
There’s a small group of defensive players in the NFL who make opposing offensive coordinators stay up late into the night devising their game plan for the week.
Nick Bosa is one of those players.
The San Francisco 49ers defensive end is a premier pass rusher. He’s got athleticism, power and a high motor. He often dominates one-on-one matchups, even against the best offensive tackles.
Bosa has tallied at least 10.5 sacks in each of the last three seasons. He already has two sacks in three games this season, and it’s quite possible that total will increase after Sunday’s Week 4 game versus the New England Patriots.
The Patriots offensive line is a mess right now, especially at left tackle. This group allowed seven sacks and 15 QB hits in New England’s 24-3 loss to the New York Jets last Thursday.
When asked about Bosa at a press conference Thursday, Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt didn’t let the reporter finish the question before offering one word to describe the All-Pro pass rusher.
“Nightmare,” Van Pelt said. “Great player. Generational player, speed, power — all of it. Definitely an issue and definitely a concern. We have to make sure we don’t let him ruin the game for us. He is that type of (player).”
Without a steady presence at left tackle, the Patriots will need to stop Bosa as a team and not rely on just one player.
“You have to be creative and have multiple ways of doing it,” Van Pelt said. “There are ways to get it done, and it’s going to be a group effort and take a lot of energy to make sure we lock in on pass protection.”
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Constant pressure in the backfield resulted in the Patriots completing just 16 passes for 120 yards in their Week 3 loss despite trailing the Jets nearly the entire game. The Jets generated pressure on an astounding 53.8 percent of the Patriots’ dropbacks.
This can’t happen again if the Patriots are going to upset the 49ers as double-digit underdogs. And the first priority needs to be finding Bosa before every play and preventing him from getting to the quarterback.
