No matter what Chip Kelly is cooking up for his Las Vegas Raiders offense this coming Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys, tight end Brock Bowers better be a main ingredient.
Because three targets resulting in one reception for 31 yards for 22-year-old phenom in the Thursday night 10-7 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 10 is a gross misallocation of valuable resources.
Granted, Denver does own the NFL’s third-ranked defense — in terms of points and yards allowed — and the sixth-ranked pass defense — in terms of yards yielded. And the whipping wind in Mile High as quite an obstacle.
“We were trying. We were trying all night long. The calls were going that way, the ball just didn’t get there,” Las Vegas head coach Pete Carroll said regarding Bowers during his postgame press conference after the loss to Denver. “We didn’t try and disguise it and not go there. We had calls one after another. They did a nice job getting guys on him.”
Raiders starting quarterback Geno Smith expanded on that when it was his time at the postgame podium.
“There’s heavy emphasis on Brock. Obviously when you go out there last week and have three touchdowns and have the performance he had, guys are going to see that on film and do whatever they can to stop him,” Smith explained. “We still have to find ways to get him the ball. We have to move him around and put him in a position where he can just go 1-on-1, but teams are going to double. They had a plan for him, and other guys had an opportunity to step up and that’s what they did.”
I mean, if you want to call five receptions for 44 yards by 33-year-old recently-signed veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett a step-up opportunity. It could be called a myriad of other things, though. With Bowers contained by Vance Joseph’s Broncos defense, Lockett paced the Raiders pass catchers while wideout Tre Tucker hauled in two passes for 28 yards and tight end Michael Mayer caught three passes for 22 yards. Rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr. accounted for one reception for four yards, but also did his best James Jett impression on a deep ball — where he had the defender beat — only to drop the pass from Smith.
Hence why Bowers getting stonewalled for only one reception is egregious.
Despite a valiant effort from Las Vegas’ defense — Denver was limited to 220 total yards and was forced to go 5 of 15 on third down attempts — the offense spinning its wheels and Daniel Carlson whiffing on game-tying 48-yard field goal scuttled the Raiders’ hopes.
At 2-7 overall and boasting the the 31st ranked offense (points allowed 139)); 30th in terms of yards gained (2,454)), it’s easy to figure out why a defender like defensive tackle Adam Butler is frustrated, as seen in the tweet above. The Raiders defense has been walloped too, but the group holds the 20th ranking in terms of points allowed (220) and 15th in yards yielded (2,887).
But here the Silver & Black are with another primetime opportunity, this time under the Monday night lights inside Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders host the Cowboys (3-5-1), a team that boasts an offense and defense on completely opposite spectrums. And this provides a legitimate test for Butler and Patrick Graham’s Las Vegas defense while boding well for Kelly and his quicksand offense.
Dallas walks into Monday’s tilt boasting the fourth-ranked offense both in points scored (263) and yards gained (3,406), however, Matt Eberflus’ defense is worse — gasp! — than Las Vegas ranking 31st out of 32 teams in both points allowed (277) and yards yielded (3,577).
If there’s a game to get Bowers back to his dominate self, it’s Monday night against Dallas. And it’ll be up to Kelly and Smith, respectively, to dial up the play calls and distribute the ball to No. 89.
The Cowboys did well to bolster their struggling defense by landing former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson and New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams via trade before the deadline. The new additions should help reinforce the 28th-ranked run defense in Dallas.
And with Williams slated to anchor the middle with Kenny Clark and the Raiders missing powerful guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (injured reserve), there’s potential for more pressure up the middle to get after Smith. Smith was sacked six times in the Week 10 loss in Denver.
But it’ll be up to Kelly to counter whatever Eberflus throws the Raiders’ way.
A great way to test Dallas’ Swiss cheese defense is to move Bowers all across the formation and get him the ball quickly early and often. Whether it’s 12 personnel or featuring the spectacular tight end in the traditional slot wide receiver role, Bowers has the route running, size, and speed to beat man and zone coverages. Full route tree on maximum overdrive, basically.
Go back to what worked against the Jaguars who tried to deploy a variety of coverages only to get smoked for 127 yards and three touchdowns on 12 Bowers receptions. And, if you’re going to dial up a tight end jet sweep/end around, execute that better, will ya?
Hell, if Kelly is known to habitually run similar concepts game in, game out, why not go back to the Jaguars script?
And for the well-compensated Raiders offensive coordinator who has shown only fleeting moments of creativity, another primetime dud isn’t likely to bode well for Kelly’s future in Las Vegas. Despite owner Mark Davis noting he’s exercising patience with this new regime.
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