Bosa’s sights focused on future, not past

Buffalo Bills defensive end Joey Bosa doesn’t want to dwell on the past.

The various injuries and losing seasons that plagued him out West are all just a distant memory that he’s not ready to reflect on. 

The game he just had against the New York Jets? That’s in the rearview mirror now, too.

“We tried to learn our lesson and do the best we can to stop his feet, and get after (Justin Fields) in the pass (game). We were able to get a few stops early, which gave us a chance to kind of rush the passer,” Bosa said in the locker room following Buffalo’s 30-10 bludgeoning of New York at MetLife Stadium.

“There were some great things that we did and some things we did quite poorly, but we just have to learn – win or lose. Obviously it makes it a little easier when you win, especially a game like that, but you just move on. You don’t have time to live in the past in this league. Games come quick, especially with this Thursday (against Miami) coming up. So, you just have to flush it, learn what you can, and move on.”

Members of the fanbase, however, won’t soon forget his outing from Sunday, at least not until he strings together another performance like he did against the Jets.

Bosa terrorized New York tackles Olu Fashanu and rookie Armand Membou all afternoon en route to racking up one sack, one tackle for loss, two tackles, two forced fumbles, and multiple quarterback pressures on the day.

It was an impressive outing for the former third-overall pick out of Ohio State, who just broke the dreaded age threshold of 30 in July.

Don’t call him washed up just yet, though.

Through two weeks Bosa has looked comfortable in his new home, providing a stable presence opposite fellow Buffalo defensive end Gregory Rousseau and proving he can still be a playmaker, tallying three forced fumbles in his efforts thus far. On a Bills team that has won the turnover battle in 24 straight games – an NFL record according to ESPN’s Field Yates – Bosa is fitting right in.

Sunday’s outing against New York was even more impressive when you dig a little deeper. 

In 26 snaps (55% of the snap count), the 6-foot-5, 280-pound Florida native posted a whopping 46.7% pressure rate, a 40% pass-rush win rate and seven total pressures.

The performance was the type of play general manager Brandon Beane envisioned from Bosa when he took a swing and signed the oft-injured defensive lineman to a one-year, $12.6 million deal in March. 

Many in the media and fanbase were skeptical of the signing due to the aforementioned injuries, especially because of the seemingly failed Von Miller experiment, but so far the gamble has appeared to pay off.

Obviously two games is an incredibly small sample size, however, there isn’t much more you could ask for from the 10-year veteran as he’s assimilated himself quite nicely along the defensive line and in the locker room as a whole.

Once thought of as one of the premier rushers in the league, Bosa might be inching back toward that status if his current play continues as he’s third (25%) in the NFL in pressure rate for players with at least 20 snaps behind only Pittsburgh’s Alex Highsmith (30.8%) and Denver’s Nik Bonitto (35.7%).

Whether that production continues as the season moves forward remains to be seen. For now, though, the “old” guy in the defensive line room is just having a good time and taking everything in stride.

“It’s fun. I’m just trying to have as much fun as I can playing football,” Bosa said. “I mean, we’ve beat it to death, but the last few years haven’t went my way with injuries. I’m just trying to enjoy every second I can out there feeling good playing with the guys.”

Now 2-0 and with a quick turnaround, the veteran and his teammates already have their sights set on Thursday night’s matchup at Highmark Stadium against the Miami Dolphins.

Following the team’s rebound performance against the Jets, Bosa is confident Buffalo can keep it rolling when the lights turn on in Orchard Park.

“With Josh Allen all you have to do is make a few stops and get the ball in his hand, and more than likely you’re going to end up winning games,” he said.

“It wasn’t doom and gloom (after Baltimore), ‘Oh my God we let up 40 points.’ It’s like I said – you come out with a win, you flush it, you learn what you can, and you move on. The Ravens are one of the best offenses in the NFL, and to be able to win the game we made stops when we needed to. (We) learned what we could from our mistakes and moved on, and I thought it was a three-phase type of game (against the Jets).”

Fans will be looking for more of the same from Bosa and company come Thursday against the Dolphins. Kickoff between the divisional foes is slated for 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime TV.

Editor’s babble: Many thanks to John Green for his contributions to our blog. You can also find John on Xwitter @JGreen_PRsports.