The Chargers are heating up at the right time, and they’re getting healthier, too.
Out since Week 3 with a groin injury, pass rusher Joey Bosa has been activated from injured reserve ahead of the club’s Los Angeles showdown against the Rams on Sunday, the team announced.
“He has looked good,” coach Brandon Staley told reporters Friday, via the team transcript. “He was able to share with you guys a little bit of what we’ve seen in his progression, which is a guy that was getting better and better. We didn’t want to designate him to return if we didn’t feel like he was capable of going out there and performing. He looked good in the practices. This is going to be part of his return to play, getting out there and playing football. I’m excited to see him compete.”
The four-time Pro Bowler will join a Chargers squad that just clinched its first postseason berth since 2018 on the heels of a three-game win streak.
Bosa has long established himself as L.A.’s premier pass-rushing threat -- he boasts 59.5 career sacks and 14 forced fumbles in his seven-year career -- but the defense has been holding things down of late and should continue to do so as he acclimates himself back in the lineup ahead of the playoffs.
Despite ranking tied for 18th in sacks and tied for 21st in scoring defense through 16 weeks, Los Angeles has tallied 13 sacks, including seven in a 20-3 Monday Night Football drubbing of the Colts, and allowed an NFL-best 11.3 points per game since its winning streak began in Week 14.
Now Bosa returns on top of that production with the Chargers’ playoff-seeding possibilities ranging from No. 5 to No. 7.
Bosa will play a part in where the Chargers start the postseason as he regains his football wind, and he'll surely impact how far they go from there once he's gotten a couple of games under his belt.