Like Brother, Nick Bosa Emerging as One of NFL's Dominant Defensive Forces

Inside the 49ers locker room, defensive lineman Nick Bosa is well liked. He's humble, smart and a fast learner, one player said. He's quickly become one of the leaders on the defense and is accepted, this player says, by every player on the team.

Those same players respect not only his mind, but his unmistakable physical abilities.

On Sunday against the Panthers, Bosa joined Vikings defensive lineman Kevin Williams (in 2003) and Panthers defensive lineman Julius Peppers (in 2002) as the only rookies to have at least three sacks and an interception in a game since 1982. He also became the first NFL player since Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones in 2017 with at least three sacks and one interception in a game. Not surprisingly, he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Farther down the California coast, inside the Chargers' locker room, defensive lineman Joey Bosa is also well liked. He's humble, smart and a fast learner, one player said. He's quickly became one of the leaders on the defense and is accepted, this player says, by every player on the team.

You aren't reading double. In two different cities, on two different NFL franchises, two brothers who made questionable decisions on social media before they joined the league have been able to move beyond those moments, fit into their locker rooms and dominate the sport in ways few young players ever have.

Not since the Manning family have we seen two brothers obliterate the NFL like this.

Joey Bosa, like Nick, earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after he devoured the Bears like they were an omelette. Bosa sacked Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky twice and had seven tackles, four for a loss, and three quarterback hits. It's the first time ever that two brothers won the defensive award in the same week, according to the NFL.

And it's probably just a glimpse of things to come for them.

With the uproar over the brothers' political views seemingly having faded, the focus seems to be on nothing but football for now.

And they are proving exceedingly good at that.

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press/Associated Press

In San Francisco, Nick has become the rare player who has almost single-handedly transformed a defense. Other players on the 49ers defense are also excellent, including Richard Sherman, who is playing like he did at his peak, and a devastating front line. But none of them seem to bring the team together like Bosa, who has offensive players calling out his name in exultation.

I was told an instructive story about Nick. When some of his defensive teammates first met him, they were friendly and warm. I'm told Bosa expected a chillier reception, but it never came.

His 49ers teammates were making something clear: You have a clean slate with us. Now let's ball out.

Bosa, who has 16 solo tackles and seven sacks in six games, does what other great players do. He makes a good defense great. The same goes for his brother in San Diego, who hasn't been able to prevent the Chargers' struggles this season but has registered 28 tackles and seven sacks in eight games.

Both are key building blocks in a trend you see more and more in the league: that of passing-centric teams relying heavily on their defenses to ease the burden their quarterbacks need to carry.

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Take a look at Green Bay, where the Packers rank 11th in points allowed per game, plenty stingy for Aaron Rodgers and the league's seventh-highest-scoring offense. You even see this in New England, where the Patriots have the greatest quarterback of all time and yet, at least for now, have more of a defensive character than they have in recent years. That makes sense when your defense is allowing fewer than eight points per game.

Bosa's 49ers defense isn't far behind in giving up an average of only 11 points per game, which is why it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Niners and the Pats playing each other on Super Bowl Sunday.

But as both Bosas have shown, the key to forming any great defense is mixing explosiveness with cohesiveness.

In just a short time, the brothers are doing just that—dominating the NFL with the full backing of their respective locker rooms.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.