Even though the Las Vegas Raiders have Brock Bowers on their squad, the 2024 season is officially a loss after they dropped their sixth game in a row.
The Raiders’ most recent loss came against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11, a disappointing showing where the defense failed to generate many stops. The Dolphins’ offense had no trouble moving the football and constantly got themselves in scoring position.
Tua Tagovailoa carved up Las Vegas’ secondary, connecting with a plethora of receivers en route to 288 passing yards and a season-high three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Las Vegas interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner was able to spruce up the offense and feature players like Bowers, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Miami, who took advantage of busted coverages.
Although the loss stings, Bowers continues to establish himself as the next up-and-coming star tight end in the league, and he made history with his performance against the Dolphins via Field Yates of ESPN:
Raiders TE Brock Bowers today:
13 catches
124 yards
TDThat’s the most catches by a rookie TE in a single game in NFL history.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 17, 2024
Bowers was the focal point of the passing offense as he drew 16 targets from Gardner Minshew and made good on them by turning in one of the best rookie tight end performances in league history. Coming out of Georgia, Bowers was considered a generational-level talent at the position, but he is somehow exceeding expectations despite the team’s offensive struggles.
The Dolphins’ defense was focused on limiting any explosive fields along the sidelines, opening up space for Bowers to dominate the short and intermediate areas of the field. However, he showed off how dangerous he can be with the football in his hands as he was also able to get extra yards after the catch.
With Las Vegas basically out of the playoff picture, the team needs to turn their attention to the future and evaluate the other pieces on the roster worth building around. It’s clear that Bowers will be the No. 1 target for the offense, but now the Raiders must find players to help carry the load.
Alexander Mattison is excited for Scott Turner to call plays
Turner was elevated to interim offensive coordinator after the organization cleaned house, setting himself up to prove that he could handle the job full-time. Alexander Mattison previously worked with Turner when they were with the Minnesota Vikings and is excited for him to call plays for the Raiders.
