I think it can -- do those replacement bags on the right have stitching partway up like the left one does, or is it just a big open flag shape? Watching our old Polaris 280, the leaves getting sucked up and over that barrier seemed to be an inherent part of keeping them out of the way so the main jets have a clear path straight up. Once the side section got packed it would still fill the main section, but at a slower pace.
Other things that can affect performance include the porosity of the mesh and the stiffness of the "neck" where it connects to the plastic ring. When I tried a bigger "leaf bag" with our 280 ; it didn't work well at all; it would fill a bit then just clog at the neck. I think the stiffness and lack of "side pouch" was the issue. The smaller regular bags actually packed more in, so I just used those and replaced them every year or so as they'd get torn up.
Now, I never tried non-OEM bags like above with zippers; the cheapie regular bags I got early on were velcro closure, which was awful, and I just went back to OEM Polaris bags after that figuring any potential hassle wasn't worth the $10-$20/year savings.