As a Brock Bowers truther, writing “the offense must flow through Bowers” was excellent source material.
After all, the tight end is the Las Vegas Raiders best pass-catching option and the Georgia product runs routes and gets separation like a wide receiver even at his size at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. The 23-year-old paces the Silver & Black’s aerial attack with 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns.
But that’s where Bowers’ 2025 stats will remain.
The Raiders placed their ultra-talented and productive tight end on injured reserve Wednesday, and as a result, a narrative shift is apt.
“Well, it’s always a next man up mindset. I think any coach that you’ve ever interviewed would tell you that. No one feels sorry for you. Nobody cares, to be honest with you,” Raiders interim offensive coordinator Greg Olson said on how big of a loss Bowers going to IR is. “And as coaches, we preach that all the time within practice. Sometimes you’ll pull a player out and make a backup step up to kind of prepare him for those situations. But the whole next man up mindset kind of carries you through.”
Thus: Making Ashton Jeanty the focal point is key for the Silver & Black — in both Week 17 and the season finale next Sunday.
By The NumbersAshton Jeanty
- Rushing: 224 carries, 828 yards (long of 64), 5 touchdowns, 37 first downs
- Receiving: 50 receptions, 326 yards (long of 60), 5 touchdowns, 12 first downs
With Bowers out of commission, Jeanty is the de facto offense for Las Vegas. In the 23-21 loss at the Houston Texans in Week 16, the Raiders’ 22-year-old tailback had 25 touches to produce 128 rushing yards and a touchdown and one reception for 60 yards and an additional end zone visit. Those 25 touches represents the third time Las Vegas provided volume to its sixth overall pick.
And against the incoming New York Giants, another 25-touch outing — perhaps even more — is an opportune time to flow the offense through Jeanty. Due in large part to the G-Men’s second-worst ranked rushing defense (2,224 yards allowed) that also ranks 28th in rushing touchdowns given up (19), Olson would be wise to feed his capable running back.
New York hasn’t held an opponent’s ground game to under 100 yards since Week 5 and 6 (two months ago) when the defense held the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles to 88 and 77 rushing yards, respectively. The the last four games, the Giants yielded a grand total of 615 yards on the ground.
Get Jeanty 20-plus carries and receptions in the passing game and see where the chips fall. See if the adjustments from a using a majority of zone blocking scheme to more man/power concepts proves fruitful in back-to-back games.
“Yeah, I felt like we ID-ed it better, and our fits were better when you looked at it,” Olson explained on the offensive line coming together last week in Houston. “And I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part when you look at it, and you’re not going to win every match up, but when you go through the course of the game and you look at the number of runs that were called, how many did we control the line of scrimmage, and how many did they control the line of scrimmage? And I felt like it was our best game in that regard. But it also came down to our fits were better and our ID was better at the line of scrimmage.”
Quotes of Note
“I really think he could play receiver. I think he could be a slot receiver in this league. He’s got great hands. He’s great out of the backfield. He understands spacing, and he just knows what to do. I mean, you can tell he understands the game, and when he gets the ball in his hands, whether that’s in the backfield or in the catching game, he’s so explosive and dynamic. And so, however we can get him the ball in space, that’s what we try to do, and you see what he does when he gets that opportunity.”
—Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith on what makes running back Ashton Jeanty an effective pass catcher
“The runs that he had for the six and eight yards, or the five and six yards, were some of his best. He was tough as hell. He was fighting and clawing and scratching, and the guys were pushing the piles, and he was lunging forward. And eventually, like with a great runner, it happens and there’s the space, and then he’s gone. And so, I thought he played a tremendous game. We went deep to him a couple times in practice last week, and he made the same plays in practice. And the play comes up in the game — it’s no big deal. And matter of fact, he made kind of a circus catch in practice one day on the same play. And so, he’s a big-time performer.”
—Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll on running back Ashton Jeanty’s Week 16 performance
