Nearing the halfway point of the regular season and the final weekend of October football, the Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) are struggling as they suit up Sunday to tackle the AFC West leading Kansas City Chiefs (6-0). But Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers is providing high-level play and league-leading stats at the position.

“[He’s] been a bright spot for us each and every week,” said Raiders coach Antonio Pierce during this week’s preparations for the Chiefs.

Raiders-Rams Winners And Losers

Last Sunday in a Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Rams, coach Pierce hurt his team’s chances again and made his second head-scratching, mis-management major mistake this season when failing to go for a touchdown on 4th and 9 and down 8 points with less than 3 minutes to go in the ball game. The Raiders had gone on a 14-play drive in 7 minutes to the Rams 4-yard line. Brock Bowers was targeted on 2nd and 3rd down in double coverage, but QB Gardner Minshew was unable to connect. Pierce elected to kick a field goal with all three timeouts left, and the Raiders lost 20-15. Bowers performance and stats against the Rams were career-highs with 10 receptions for 93 receiving yards.

Raiders (+7) bettors may have been happy, but Bowers and his teammates were not following another turnover-filled defeat. The Raiders have a league-worst minus-13 turnover differential this season following four more against the Rams.

Brock Bowers Super Season

Bowers was the Raiders 1st round draft pick this season taken No. 13 overall. He’s been a “baller” since he arrived at Raiders training camp and now excelling in his first pro football season after dominating at Georgia as a 2-time Mackey Award winner as the nation’s top tight end.

“Since the day he got here he’s been quiet, confident, just a baller,” Raiders star DE Maxx Crosby said. He’s a stud, and already one of the better tight ends in the league. He catches everything, runs through tackles, makes people miss. He’s a complete package. I love that he’s on our team.”

Bowers’ 47 receptions not only lead the entire NFL through last Sunday’s games, he has the most catches by any tight end through their first seven career games since 2000.

• 47 receptions – third-most by any player in his first 7 games in NFL history (WR Puka Nacua, 58 and RB Saquon Barkley, 49).
• 477 receiving yards – league high for all NFL tight ends through Week 7 with 49ers George Kittle (42/375 yards) and Falcons Kyle Pitts (37/328) next. Also, Bowers 477 yards is the third most by a tight end in his first 7 games in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka (505 in 1961) and Kyle Pitts (484 in 2021) had more.

Bowers racked up 10 more receptions last week versus seven different Rams defenders. His versatility and ability to create after the catch continue to be the Raiders’ best assets on offense.

Raiders-Chiefs Matchups And Advanced Stats

Respected sports handicapper and advanced model statistics guru Dr. Bob Sports provided additional stats and notes on the Chiefs-Raiders matchup with additional information you can bet on from Pro Football Focus (PFF).

• Aidan O’Connell now is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a broken thumb so Gardner Minshew will be the starter again on Sunday. Minshew is a slight upgrade on O’Connell.
• Las Vegas WR Jakobi Meyers should suit up this week and he is averaging 0.43 EPA/target (14th). However, Meyers might struggle in his first game from an ankle injury across from Kansas City cornerback Trent McDuffie, who conceded only 1 reception for 15 yards on 4 targets in man coverage last week. The Chiefs defense will be without CB Jaylen Watson, who suffered a fractured ankle in Sunday’s win.
• Kansas City’s defense is allowing a 60% success rate to opposing tight ends (26th) and they will be tested by TE Brock Bowers, whose 27 receptions over the past three games is the most for a rookie tight end in NFL history.
• Raiders RG Dylan Parham ranks 11th in pass-blocking efficiency but he could be sidelined for another game. That would leave backup guard Jordan Meredith and rookie right tackle DJ Glaze to line up across from edge rusher George Karlaftis and interior defender Chris Jones. Karlaftis has 24 pressures (18th) and Jones ranks 3rd in pass rushing efficiency. Update: NFL injury report shows Parham is out and will not play.
• Patrick Mahomes is averaging a career low 0.09 EPA/play and it would be even worse if he wasn’t picking up a first down on a league-high 63% of his scrambles.
• The Chiefs traded for WR DeAndre Hopkins but it seems unlikely he’ll get more than 15 routes in his first game.
• Kansas City right tackle Jawaan Taylor ranks 15th in pass-blocking efficiency and he will battle with edge rusher Maxx Crosby, whose 33.5 sacks since the start of the 2022 season (2nd).
• Our model favors the Chiefs by 9.4 points, with a predicted total of 41.3 points, and Kansas City is 1-10-1 ATS in their last 12 as a road favorite of 4 points or more following a win. And this does seem like a flat spot after last week’s Super Bowl rematch with the 49ers.

Brock Bowers Props

Pro football odds from FanDuel Sportsbook refresh periodically and are bets types and odds are subject to change, including on props and live betting.

Bowers has 1 TD reception this season, and sadly that’s tied for the team lead as Raiders QB’s have thrown just 6 TD passes. This week Bowers will take the field against Chiefs 9-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Fame TE Travis Kelce, who has a team-high 28 receptions for 245 yards and zero touchdowns this season.

• TE Brock Bowers receiving yards vs. Chiefs – O/U 61.5
• TE Travis Kelce receiving yards vs. Raiders – O/U 54.5
• TE Bowers receptions: Not yet listed
• TE Kelce receptions: O/U 5.5
• TE Bowers anytime TD: +250
• TE Kelce anytime TD: +110
• TE Bowers 80+ receiving yards (+200)

While the Chiefs defense has been dominant thanks to a No. 1 rated defensive line (Raiders #11), 49ers tight end George Kittle did have 6 receptions for 92 yards last week against the Chiefs. Bowers will be the focal point of the Raiders offensive attack again, and at least 6 receptions seems likely.

Power Plays newsletter projects the Raiders (236) to have the fewest offensive yards of all NFL teams in Week 8 games. But Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has been underperforming this season. Mahomes’ 6-8 touchdown-to-interceptions is the worst among the NFL’s 24 quarterbacks who have started all of their team’s games this season. He’ll welcome the addition of WR DeAndre Hopkins this week in a trade from the Tennessee Titans. The betting line (Chiefs -9.5) hasn’t moved since that trade.

Raiders QB Gardner Minshew has 4 TD’s and 8 INT’s in five starts this season. He’ll likely be passing more again against the Chiefs with the matchups suggesting limited running game success.

Follow more NFL teams, matchups, storylines and betting updates including Week 8 as the Raiders try to rebound against the 2-time defending Super Bowl champions Chiefs, who are on their way to an 9th consecutive AFC West division title.

“It’s Raider week so it’s definitely a little bit more energy added to that week.”

You can bet on it.

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