Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has the privilege of being one of the few players at his position that 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa doesn't hate, but that doesn't mean Bosa will be taking it easy on him when the two teams play this Sunday.
Bosa was asked a week ago during his weekly media session if there were certain quarterbacks he hates, to which he responded "All of them." But he reversed that stance when asked later about Burrow, with whom he he has a friendship dating back to their college days at Ohio State.
"No, I actually don't hate Joe," Bosa said last week.
With a road game against the Bengals on the schedule this week (4:25 p.m. ET/1:25 p.m. PT Sunday, CBS), the subject of Bosa's friendship with Burrow came up once again at his weekly media session. Bosa admitted he's a little bit more fired up this week knowing he'll face Burrow and plans on knocking his friend around if he gets the chance.
"Yeah, he's a good friend of mine and I definitely want to hit him a few times," Bosa said.
Bosa then went into more detail as to how he and Burrow became friends. He and Burrow hung out together in and out of the player's dormitory at Ohio State, where he also became friends with Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard and former 49ers and current Giants linebacker Justin Hilliard.
"We're all teammates so we get along," Bosa said. "He was a year older and we were all in the same dorms. Me and my roommate became good friends with their group -- Joe, Sam Hubbard, a few other guys, Justin Hilliard who was here. That was all our group."
Eventually, Bosa and Burrow chose different career paths that led each player to a high degree of success. Burrow transferred from Ohio State to LSU, where he went on to win a national championship and a Heisman Trophy during a senior season that was one of the greatest for a quarterback in college football history, while Bosa declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year. The Bengals selected Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, a year after the 49ers chose Bosa with the second verall pick.
"We just spent a lot of time together that second year and became friends, then he left and I got drafted," Bosa said. "We both had success, and that kind of brings you together too as friends -- when you're both on the same path, similar path."
But while Bosa seems to be anxious to see Burrow on the field this Sunday, Burrow doesn't quite feel the same. That's understandable, considering Bosa will be doing the best he can to add Burrow to the list of quarterbacks that make up the 12 sacks he's tallied so far this season.
"I think I'd prefer to see him in the offseason and hang out with him then," Burrow told reporters Wednesday.
Burrow will actually have a rare Bosa-related experience this week, albeit maybe one he would prefer not to have. Burrow and the Bengals squared off against Nick's brother Joey in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last week, which means he'll be facing the Bosa brothers back-to-back in consecutive games. Burrow said Wednesday he doesn't have much of a preference when it comes to going up against the Bosas.
"No, not really. I think they both present a lot of challenges," Burrow said.
Whatever happens on Sunday, Bosa and Burrow's friendship will pick up where it left off once the game's over. Chances are the next meeting will come online, where the two of them regularly play video games together.
"He's good at Rocket League," Bosa said. "I played it all of college and he hadn't played it really in college, then he started playing it recently. Whatever he decides to do, he's usually pretty obsessed and good at it. So he's pretty good now."