Christian Darrisaw Completely Dominated Matchup vs Reining DPOY Nick Bosa

By Eric Strack |

Updated: Oct 24, 2023

San Francisco 49ers EDGE rusher, Nick Bosa, entered his matchup vs young talented left tackle, Christian Darrisaw, and the Minnesota Vikings, as the reigning NFL Sack King (18.5), Defensive Player of the Year and 1st team All-Pro. He’s considered the best of the best.

Nick Bosa rides struggle bus vs Christian Darrisaw

But, the 26-year-old younger Bosa brother is off to a rather slow start in 2023, recording just 2.5 sacks and 19 pressures on the season through 7 games. Unfortunately for Nick Bosa, being dominated (downright embarrassed at times) by Darrisaw on Monday Night Football with the the entire non-baseball sports world watching probably did not help his confidence.

.@Vikings @chrisdarrisaw71 is playing great football…This PUNCH is textbook. #skol #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/rSsRStXmBz
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 24, 2023

How good was Darrisaw on Monday night? According to PFF, he allowed just two pressures on 44 opportunities in pass protection vs the 49ers, good for a 97% effectiveness rate. His grades for the week all rank in the top-7 among offensive tackles and his overall grade was 6th among o-linemen.

Darrisaw is best of the best

But last night wasn’t a surprise for any football fan not living under a rock. Christian Darrisaw has allowed just one sack and 11 pressures all season. Not only is the 24-year-old the highest rated left tackle in the league, according to PFF, but he is the highest-rated offensive linemen too.

Christian Darrisaw	Wk 7	T Rk	OL Rk	2023	T Rk	OL Rk
PFF Run Block	83.3	4th	7th	87.6	2nd	7th
PFF Pass Block	81.3	7th	22nd	86.4	2nd	5th
PFF Overall	84.3	3rd	6th	89.3	1st	1st
Sacks Allowed	0	T-1st	T-1st	1	T-9th	T-37th
Pressures Allowed	2	T-19th	T-64th	11	T-16th	T-57th

*Qualified OL: 50% of offensive snaps

Rest of Minnesota Vikings offensive line good, not great on MNF

Christian isn’t the only member of the Minnesota Vikings offensive line who played well vs the Niners. Hell, Kirk Cousins took ZERO sacks on the night. But without Darrisaw’s dominance, the night may have unfolded much differently.

(RG) Ezra Cleveland, (LG) Dalton Risner and (RT) Brian O’Neill all allowed 4 QB pressures each and (C) Garrett Bradbury produced one of his lowest graded games of the season, producing an ugly 53.3 overall grade dragged down by a downright disgusting 41.1 pass block grade. The entire OL has been much better in 2023, than in past years, but they are nothing without Darrisaw holding down the left edge.

There were a lot of questions surrounding Darrisaw, when Rick Spielman & Co drafted him 23rd overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, especially when he started his career injured and unable to play. But those doubts are all but dead and the Virginia Tech alum has cemented himself as one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan