The NFL is a copy cat league.
As such, interim offensive coordinator Greg Olson would be wise to exploit the apparent weakness the Denver Broncos having stopping tight ends and use Brock Bowers — the Las Vegas Raiders beast weapon on offense — to the fullest extent this Sunday.
Covered or not, the Silver & Black’s offense must flow through Bowers. The second-year tight end leads the team in targets (68), receptions (49), receiving yards (573) and is tied for the with five touchdowns. Only rookie running back Ashton Jeanty has more production (635 yards rushing, four touchdowns; 251 yards receiving, four touchdowns).
For Bowers, the Week 14 home date with the Broncos can prove quite advantageous. In back-to-back games, Denver’s defense (ranked 4th and 5th best in points allowed (218) and yards (3,437), respectively, had difficulty containing the Travis Kelce in Week 11 and Zach Ertz this past Sunday night.
By The NumbersTight Ends Productions Against Denver Broncos
(last 2 games)
- Week 13: Washington Commanders, Zach Ertz, 10 receptions, 106 yards (long of 21)
- Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs, Travis Kelce, 9 receptions, 91 yards, 1 touchdown (long of 21)
Now, this isn’t to say the Broncos defense didn’t rise to the occasion when matched up against Ertz. The play above highlights a great pass break up by linebacker Alex Singleton on a 3rd-and-21 situation the Commanders faced.
Yet, watching a 35-year-old tight end get open and almost come down with a big first down play against your stout defense is a disconcerting thing for Denver. Ertz also couldn’t come down with a potential touchdown reception, too. Ertz’s 10 catches for 106 yards is the Stanford product’s highest production this season and the 6-foot-5 and 250-pound 13-year veteran has 49 receptions for 493 yards and four touchdowns in 2025.
And that was coming off a bye week.
In Week 11, the 36-year-old Kelce dropped 91 yards and one touchdown (fourth quarter to allow Kansas City to take a 19-16 lead) in Denver’s 22-19 victory. That game marked the Cincinnati product’s second-highest output of the year (six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders the high mark).
Being susceptible to aging tight ends is something that should stand out on film for Olson. And he should test the Broncos’ ability to matchup with Bowers thoroughly this Sunday.
The Raiders’ 31-14 loss to the Chargers this past Sunday showed that when he’s open or covered, the 22-year-old tight end keeps making plays. Bowers hauled in all four of his targets for 63 yards (long of 27) including a highlight-reel one-handed touchdown grab.
A double-digit target afternoon for Bowers against the incoming Broncos must be in order. Especially considering in that 10-7 defeat to Denver at Mile High, the tight end finished with a paltry three targets and one catch for 31 yards.
“There’s is a few variables in there, and some of the way they played him. And we’re always looking for him —— always,” Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said when asked about Bowers’ low target counts and if quarterback Geno Smith being under duress affects that. “We love the way he plays and the plays that he can make. So, it’s never like we’re holding off to throw to somebody else. That’s not the way this works.
“But some of it was pressure, and some of it was things that (the Chargers) did. They really committed hard, and it worked out for them better than for us. We would like him to get close to 10 targets a game, and somewhere in there and more. We’ll take whatever we can get with him. He was easily looked at with the thought of targeting in maybe a dozen times in the game. So, it just didn’t work out.”
Las Vegas moves Bowers all over the field in a variety of alignments in formations. We’ve seen him at inline tight end, split out and even in the slot or in the perimeter where a traditional wide receiver lines up. That ability should help Olson and Bowers test the various parts of Denver’s defense and find favorable matchups.
Protection up front has been hit and miss for Las Vegas, without a doubt. But when given time, Smith has a tendency to hold on to the ball too long instead of finding an outlet and absorbing drive hampering sacks. Thus, going quick to Bowers can help alleviate that and open up intermediate and deeper passes for a Raiders offense lacking explosive plays (a pass that gains 20 or more yards; a rush that gains 10 or more yards).
“I mean, that’s the situation. I try my best to go out there and make it happen no matter who’s out there,” Smith said when asked how challenging it’s been working behind an offensive line that has different parts come in and out due to injury and poor play. “Obviously, we lost Kolton (Miller) early in the year, that’s a big part of our offensive line, but I thought guys have stepped up and done their best to make it work. The coaches, they control a lot of that stuff, but for me, I’ve got to lead the troops, lead the guys that are on the field. Obviously, with O-line, you want that continuity. You want guys to be able to play alongside each other for a long time, but that hasn’t been the case, and so there’s no crying about it. You got to go out there and make it happen.”
Quote of Note
“No, it’s up to the competition at the spots and who they’re trying to kind of remove from the playtime or gain some playtime on. It just depends on what’s happening, and not everybody — it’s not a wholesale idea. It’s an opportunity to compete to find your way on the field, and we want to be wide open to it, which we are, and then they have got to earn it. And so, that’s basically what it is. If some guys come along faster than others or other guys maybe play better at their spots because they feel the pressure of it, which is kind of the whole idea.”
—Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll when asked what’s the challenge younger players face to get more consistent reps.
