Skip to main content

As Ohio State fans know, there are two Bosa brothers tearing it up in the NFL at the moment. Joey Bosa, 24, is a defensive end for the Los Angeles Chargers. His brother Nick Bosa, 22, is a defensive lineman with the currently unstoppable San Francisco 49ers.

At a moment when the NFL is questioning whether certain hyped-up college players were drafted far too high, the Bosa brothers get the job done on the field. Their strong showings with the Buckeyes translated to putting on a show at the professional level, too.

The Bosa brothers’ path to the NFL

Some families seem destined for NFL success. The Bosas’ run in the NFL starts with Joey and Nick’s grandfather Palmer Pyle. Pyle played with the Baltimore Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders between 1960 and 1966.

Joey and Nick’s father John Bosa also had a decent pro football run. He played as — shocker — a defensive end for the Miami Dolphins from 1987 to 1989. John was picked 16th in the 1987 NFL Draft. His sons took the baton and ran even further with it.

Joey and Nick’s mother and uncle both graduated from Ohio State, which aggressively leveraged the connection to recruit Joey and Nick. With the Buckeyes, the Bosa boys donned John’s No. 97 and went on a tear.

Joey was selected third overall in the 2016 draft, while Nick was honored with the second overall pick in 2019. The third generation of an NFL dynasty was born. And it’s not hard to make the case that the third family line from this great football family is the best yet.

The Bosa brothers won Defensive Player of the Week at the same time

The Bosa brothers had an unprecedented Week 8 showing. They were so good, on the same weekend, that they took the AFC and NFC Player of the Week awards.

Joey was instrumental in holding down the Chicago Bears long enough for them to miss yet another crucial game-ending field-goal attempt. He harassed struggling quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with two sacks, seven tackles, and four tackles for loss. The Chargers’ offense was held down in kind by Khalil Mack and the Bears powerful defense, but the Chargers came out on top 17-16.

Not one to let his fellow No. 97 take the spotlight, Nick took things further. He was the key defensive player in a brutal 51-13 massacre over the Carolina Panthers. He racked up four tackles and three sacks. That’s five sacks in one weekend for the Bosa family. Oh, and how could we forget the massive interception he returned for 46 yards?

In Week 8, all things defense came up Bosa.

Will Joey or Nick finish their career as the best Bosa in the NFL?

Both Joey and Nick are elite defensive players with many NFL years ahead of them. If one has to be picked, which comes out ahead?

Unfortunately, as is the case too often in sports, injuries may have more to do with the answer than anything within either Bosa’s control. Nick has remained relatively healthy so far, with only a minor ankle injury sidelining him from preseason games and Week 1 of the regular season. Joey, on the other hand, found himself knocked out of the 2018-19 season through Week 11 with a nasty bruised foot bone.

Right now both Bosas are avoiding the injury list. But, in 2019, their best performances happened in the same week. And Nick Bosa was the one who came out on top.

Best in NFL
Contributing Writer

Agustin Mojica

Agustin Mojica began as a contributing writer for Sportscasting in 2018. He’s been writing professionally for the past seven years and writing as a hobbyist for more than a decade. Gus has his grandfather to thank for his early interest in baseball, especially the Chicago Cubs. He also grew up in Michael Jordan’s Bulls heyday, so he’ll never shake the NBA.

Gus is into gaming as a hobby, particularly fighting games. In his view, the gaming world is the oldest esports scene, and following that growth helps with writing about the business side of sports, as well as any esports connections that come up in sports writing.