Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa struggled to acknowledge his massive statline after Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“I mean it’s great … it just sucks,” Bosa said. “I really, really wanted to pull that one out. And it’s hard to feel excited after such a tough game like that.”
Bosa did nearly everything he could to pull out a win at Bills Stadium. He had a career-high three sacks with six tackles for losses, five quarterback hits, eight combined tackles, one pass defended and a fumble recovery.
Bosa did all that without teammates and pass rushers Melvin Ingram and Uchenna Nwosu, who were out with injuries. But Bosa declined to pat himself on the back and dwelled on what he could have done differently.
“I need to get that ball out on one of the sacks,” Bosa said. “I need to do a better job in that situation.”
Bosa became the first player to record three sacks, five quarterback hits, five tackles for losses, a pass defended and a fumble recovery in the same game since tackles for loss began being tracked in 2008.
Bosa also surpassed Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau for fifth all-time on the Chargers’ career sacks list with 47.5. Ingram is fourth on that list with 49 career sacks.
“He’s a freaking legend and don’t take that away from him,” Bosa said about Seau. “He’s probably one of the top three greatest Chargers of all time, if not the best.”
Bosa’s fumble recovery was the second of three fourth-quarter takeaways, but the Chargers only produced a field goal from it.
“I thought our defense stepped up big a few times,” Bosa said. “We really felt like the game was gonna shift after a few of those turnovers and it was just tough.”
TILLERY STARTS
Jerry Tillery started at defensive end with Ingram and Nwosu sidelined with injuries.
Tillery, a defensive tackle, played his third game on the edge this season. He replaced Bosa during his two-game absence because of a concussion.
Tillery, the Chargers’ 2019 first-round pick, struggled Sunday with only one quarterback hit and two penalties.
“He just has to be smart out there,” Bosa said about Tillery. “He’s a monster and he could end up being a really, really good (defensive) end in the future.”
BULAGA MISSES GAME
Right tackle Bryan Bulaga didn’t play Sunday because of illness. Trey Pipkins took his place on the starting offensive line.
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said Bulaga didn’t feel well during pregame warmups.
“He didn’t feel good,” Lynn said. “Came out (and) tried to go through pregame. Had an upset stomach.”
Lynn when asked if it’s COVID-19 related: “Not that I know of.”
Bulaga missed three games earlier this season because of a back injury. He missed a day of practice this past week because of a knee injury and a non-injury related reason.
HARRIS RETURNS
Chris Harris Jr. returned to his slot cornerback position for the first time since injuring his foot in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers.
With Harris’ return, Tevaughn Campbell moved to the outside to replace cornerback Casey Hayward, who was out with a groin injury. Campbell played the past four games at slot cornerback with Harris on injured reserve.
PERRYMAN EXITS
Linebacker Denzel Perryman left in the second quarter with a back injury and didn’t return to the game.
Nick Vigil replaced Perryman and had a forced fumble in the fourth quarter. The Chargers were thin at linebacker with Kyzir White on the COVID-19 reserve list.
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