Raiders offense: If it weren’t for rookie Brock Bowers, there’s little to be excited about

Las Vegas stymied by Denver defense last week, matches up with No. 2-ranked Pittsburgh unit in Week 6

As advertised — and then some.

That just about surmises Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers.

“Brock Bowers is a superstar, we said that, and I don’t think I’m putting a label on him. I think it’s real. We see it, and all he does is show up and make plays,” head coach Antonio Pierce said of the prized rookie.

That’s about as astute an observation you can get when it comes to the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Through five games in his initial year — and this includes this past Thursday night’s tilt between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks — Bowers sits atop many of the tight end statistical categories. He’s the leader in targets (36), yards (313), and catches for 20-plus yards (five). He’s tied with the 49ers’ George Kittle for he lead in receptions (28) and his 57-yard touchdown grab is good for third longest at the position group.

Thus: If it weren’t for Bowers, there’s very little to get excited about when it comes to the Raiders offense.

Perhaps the swap at quarterback to Aidan O’Connell from Gardner Minshew generates buzz and excitement. But the overall production from Las Vegas’ offense — orchestrated by offensive coordinator Luke Getsy — has been lukewarm.

The Raiders rank 22nd in points scored (96) and 24th in yards gained (1,485 yards) while showcasing a middling passing game (10th in attempts at 172 passes and 15th in yards at 1,065) and an almost comatose rushing attack (30th in both attempts, 109, and yards, 420).

And here’s the kicker for the Week 6 matchup the Raiders have with the incoming Pittsburgh Steelers: The Black and Yellow bring with them the second-ranked defense in terms of points allowed (73) that also ranks eighth in yards yielded (1,490).

Pittsburgh’s defense is a mix of veteran and young talent combining to make a domineering group. Experienced linebacker T.J. Watt is the tip of the spear as the pass rusher can make any offensive lineman foolish as he’s racked up 4.5 sacks and 20 total tackles so far. Veteran defensive tackle Cameron Heyward is an imposing presence in the middle and has two sacks and 21 total stops. According to Pro Football Reference, that duo accounts for 18 quarterback hits on the season (10 for Watt, eight for Heyward). Then there’s linebackers Patrick Queen (30 total tackles) and Nick Herbig (2.5 sacks, 8 total tackles) that are younger and growing. Safeties DeShon Elliot and Minkah Fitzpatrick lead the secondary and are No. 1 and 2 on the team in tackles (39 for Elliot, 35 for Fitzpatrick).

The Steelers defense is good because of discipline and effectiveness. The missed tackle tally showcases this perfectly as Pro Football Reference notes Pittsburgh as a group has 22 missed tackles, good for second-least in the NFL (the Chicago Bears lead the league with only 21).

The Raiders? Las Vegas has the most missed tackles in the league with 56. The Los Angeles Rams have the second most whiffs with 51 overall.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

O’Connell Show

The Raiders’ new QB1 first start is quite the challenge — based on the league rankings, isn’t it? But we’ll find out quickly if the second-year, 26-year-old quarterback is a much better answer at signal caller than former starter Gardner Minshew.

“Yeah, obviously they’re a great defense, great team,” O’Connell said of the Steelers. “They’ve had the same head coach for a long time, and so offensively, we’re going to have take what they give us, make sure I’m being smart with the ball and just trying to put our guys in the best position to execute and just have positive plays. I think that’s going to be a big thing, is to be consistent and have positive plays.”

In his brief appearances this season (as mop up duty when Minshew was yanked against the Carolina Panther and most recently the Denver Broncos), O’Connell is 19 of 32 (59.4 percent completion rate) for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception while absorbing two sacks.

Having Bowers as a pass catcher, along with wide receivers Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker give O’Connell a nice trio of weapons. But the quarterback will need a complementary ground game to offset a determined Steelers defense.

Brock To The Future

While semantically, the conversation of Jakobi Meyers taking over the role of the No. 1 receiver merits attention, but that role is certainly looking like it’s Bowers’. Regardless of the tight end position classification, the proper term for the Georgia product is weapon.

His ability to run routes, separate, catch the rock and gain yards after said reception was fully expected coming out of college. Bowers has shown to be an improving blocker who can stymie defenders in both pass protection and run blocking. The 6-foot-4 and 230-pound tight end is doing the dirty work in the trenches and producing as a pass catcher giving him a true all-around weapon status.

It’ll be interesting to see how Getsy and the Raiders deploy Bowers against a very stout Steelers defense this Sunday.

“And yeah, Brock is one of those guys that allow you to do a bunch of different things with one person. And yeah, it’s our job to try to keep making sure that he has the opportunity to make those plays,” Getsy said of his talented tight end. “And the more and more he does, the more and more people are going to be affected by what he does. And we have to be ready for that stuff too.”

Series History: The two teams have faced off in 32 games — 26 regular season match ups and six postseason tilts — and it’s the Raiders who lead the overall series 17-15. However, the Steelers are riding a two-game series win streak proving victorious in the 2023 and 2022 contests 23-18 and 13-10, respectively. Before that, the Raiders won the 2018 and 2021 tilts (24-21 and 26-17, respectively). In the last 10 games, it’s the Silver & Black have a slight edge at six wins to four losses. The highest point total between the two storied franchise is a 79-point outing in 1980 which the Raiders won 45-34. The lowest being a 17-0 shut out win the Raiders produced in 1974.

Quote of Note:

“It starts with me. Starts with me. I’m in charge of the defense, and each week we’ve got to do a better job in practice of what the focus is and the intentions. You’ve got pinpoint what the main issue is. If there’s three issues, let’s chip away at one, then let’s chip away at two, let’s chip away at three. So, it starts with me as the defensive coordinator, and we’ve got to figure out a way to get it right. We’re working on it in practice, I can promise you that. And from there, then we’ve got to go out there and execute.” —Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham on the team’s missed tackles