The Chargers’ pass rush brought the heat on Sunday.
They pressured Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill 14 times and sacked him a whopping five times.
Buy Chargers TicketsIt was a collaborative effort, but rookie Tuli Tuipulotu made his presence felt. The team’s second-round pick finished with three pressures and a sack.
“He has made a lot of progress,” Brandon Staley said. “He has made a lot of plays through two games and has been a real bright spot for our defense. He continues to improve. He’s been a playmaker for us for two games.”
Tuipulotu saw an uptick in playing time as Joey Bosa was on a limited snap count e was playing through a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice all of last week.
Look at Tuli on this Bosa sack. pic.twitter.com/ht81JTwUu6
— Chris Hayre (@chrishayre) September 17, 2023
Tuipulotu was often used in pressure packages with Bosa and Khalil Mack lined up, which created mismatches and stressed blockers with their speed and power.
Tuipulotu’s most notable rep in the subpackages came on Bosa’s first sack. Tuipulotu occupied and split the left tackle and left guard to allow Bosa to loop around freely.
But Tuipulotu had one-on-one opportunities, including on his lone sack. He was lined up off the edge and went speed to power against the left tackle, which he bullied into the backfield and then disengaged to get to Tannehill.
another one, thank you
📺 @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/SLfBwmULHT
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) September 17, 2023
Tuipulotu was also credited with four run stops on the day.
The Chargers need to work on defending the deep passes, but it helps when the pass rush is a well-oiled machine to minimize the amount of time for quarterbacks to get rid of the ball. Tuipulotu should continue to be a vital part of it.
Remember that Tuipulotu just recently turned 21 years old, so the best is yet to come.
