This past Sunday, Brock Bowers made his 2026 debut. And from the moment he stepped on the field, he reminded everyone of the dominant talent he is. The talent that had him named the best tight end in football as a rookie in 2024 and that earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Bowers made the catch on the first play of the game and the last touchdown catch for the Raiders in a 35-27 win in New Orleans. Overall he had ten catches for 116 yards in the game, one of them for the score. And that performance and the weekly award that followed announced loud and clear that he is a force to be reckoned with and the Raiders top offensive weapon.
You can bet the Chiefs got that message and will be keying to try and stop him when they come to Las
Vegas this week. Which will mean the rest of the Raiders offensive weapons will have to make them pay for that approach.
"Brock is a really good player," said Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak. "He had a really good game. Proud of him, but he has the full attention of the Chiefs. We need everybody to contribute."
That task is easy to attempt. Not so easy to accomplish. As the only person who has proven he can stop Bowers from getting his catches is Brock himself. That is to say injuries. Whenever he has been fully healthy, he is unstoppable. That means his entire rookie season, for all of two games last season, and this past Sunday.
The Chiefs have no choice but to focus on trying to stop him. The alternative is much worse. He is the Raiders top weapon. Their number one receiver. And the play through whom the offense runs. And the best players always succeed despite opponents committing themselves to stop them.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders TE Brock Bowers has 'full attention' of Chiefs, will it matter?
