Giants' offensive line will have tough challenge against Nick Bosa, 49ers
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 10: Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers tries to get in to the backfield against Chukwuma Okorafor #76 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second quarter of a game at Acrisure Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images/Joe Sargent
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Giants’ offensive line could have its hands full with the 49ers on Thursday night.
It’s San Francisco’s home opener. Expectations are high. And Nick Bosa has sacks on his mind.
Bosa, one of the league’s premier pass rushers, has no sacks through the first two games.
Dating to 2022, he hasn’t had a sack in his last five games. He didn’t record a sack in the 49ers’ three playoff games and has only one
in his last seven games.
Bosa obviously will be a focus of the Giants’ offensive line, but not the sole focus. And considering the Giants’ injuries, offensive line coach Bobby Johnson still might be mixing and matching along the line.
In Week 1, the line performed poorly against Dallas. (You might be able to say that about plenty of teams this season.)
In Week 2, there were changes at left tackle with Joshua Ezeudu and right guard with Marcus McKethan.
The line held up in a crazy game against the Cardinals as the Giants overcame a 20-0 halftime deficit to win, 31-28.
In Johnson’s thinking, one of the keys to coaching the line is to treat all of the players the same, whether it’s an entrenched left tackle or a first-year guard.
“We address the issues, whatever they are,” Johnson said. “We try to give them some tools to address the issue. They we put it into practice. And then we move on to the next game to see how we do with that.”
It’s fair to see that the grades after the Cardinals game were significantly better than after the opener against the Cowboys.
Another of Johnson’s sayings also fits his group.
“Don’t worry about what’s outside the building,” he tells his linemen. “Worry about what’s inside the building.”
On Thursday night, Bosa will be in the building.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
