Silver And Black Pride
Rookie tight end a highlight in otherwise ugly Week 11 defeat
Perhaps the Las Vegas Raiders should’ve practiced during the bye week instead of resting up and trying to get healthy as possible for Week 11.
Because what the team displayed on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins sure looked like a group that took a week off before having a cram session for the trip to Florida. And the result was a 34-19 shellacking of a defeat.
While the offense showed incremental progress forward — namely the aerial attack — under interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner, senior advisor Norv Turner, and interim offensive line coach Joe Philbin, the defense under Patrick Graham was in neutral and even in reverse at times.
At 2-8 overall, Las Vegas has rolled snake eyes more than hitting the jackpot — yet there’s a windfall awaiting the Silver & Black. More details below.
The Raiders rookie tight end is indeed a unicorn.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Georgia product garnered a game-high 16 targets and turned those into an NFL rookie tight end record 13 catches. Bowers’ career-best 126 yards gives him 706 on the year and that makes him the first tight end in league history to reach 700 yards in his first 10 career games.
Not only that, but the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has a total of 70 catches making him and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (71 receptions) to have 70 or more catches in their first 10 career contests.
The 21-year-old arrived on the NFL scene as a pro ready-prospect and he continues to prove it game in, and game out. At 70 receptions for 706 yards and three touchdowns, Bowers is projected by ESPN to finish his rookie season with 119 catches for 1,200 yards and five touchdowns.
The loss against Miami represents the fifth time Las Vegas has allowed 30 or more points this season. Not only that, but Graham’s Raiders defense doesn’t even remotely look like the effective unit we saw in 2023.
Granted, injuries have showcased the lack of ideal depth Graham has at his disposal, but other NFL teams are dealing with decimated rosters, too.
The Dolphins converted 8 of 12 third downs, went 2-for-2 on fourth down, and visited the red zone four times getting touchdowns on three of those trips. There were no takeaways by Graham’s defense and Miami not having to punt a single time highlights just how a struggling Dolphins offense took advantage of a Raiders defense.
With how Las Vegas head coach Antonio Pierce waxed former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy after a string of ineffectiveness, will Graham be on the chopping block, too?
The younger Turner got the Raiders aerial attack on track against the Dolphins. Going with a quick style to get the ball out of quarterback Gardner Minshew’s hands faster and missing in play action, motion, and placing Bowers in a variety of spots,...
