Brock Bowers isn’t one to tout his own accolades.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ new tight end has already said he would rather see the team win than talk about his stellar statistical performance in his first year in the NFL.

“I mean, I see things on Twitter and stuff,” Bowers said when asked about the record pace he’s on. “But our focus is for the team to win games. So you get on that track.”

Las Vegas didn’t win much, unfortunately for Bower and Co. The team is 2-6 overall and in the basement of an AFC West where the other three teams sit above .500. To put it plainly, the Raiders are struggling not just to score points, but to stop the opposition from doing so. Such is life for a team that ranks 26th in scoring fouls and 27th in points allowed.

While Las Vegas may be at the bottom of the NFL rankings as a two-win team, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any standout performers – and that’s Bowers. The 21-year-old has been a lone constant as a pass catcher.

The No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Georgia leads Las Vegas with 52 receptions – which puts Bowers second in the NFL in catches, while New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson leads the league with 60 – which is a Raiders’ team record after eight games of any season. Bowers’ 535 yards on these catches rank 11th in the league and tops at the tight end position. San Francisco 49ers tight end Greg Kittle trails the Raiders rookie with 503 yards on 40 receptions. Then it’s Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals with 446 yards on 42 catches rounding out the top three tight ends in the league.

However, like many other pass catchers in the league, Bowers’ production on offense is dependent on the other 10 Raiders.

To help alleviate the team’s apparent allergy to end zone visits and consistency on offense, the Raiders have tried to balance things out by displaying the bully ball physical run game that head coach Antonio Pierce craves. While offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s efforts to get a quality run game going haven’t been entirely futile, the rankings speak for themselves: Las Vegas has the 31st-ranked ground game in yards gained (632). The 3.6 yards per carry average is also second-to-last in a 32-team league.

Veteran running back Alexander Mattison leads that charge with 265 yards and three touchdowns on 83 carries (he has also caught 22 passes for 195 yards and another touchdown) while fellow tailback Zamir White has thrown for 164 yards on 54 carries. The duo are averaging 3.2 and 3.0 yards per carry respectively, so it’s not great.

Finding balance is nice for Getsy and his Raiders offense, but not at Bowers’ expense. After reaching double figures in Weeks 5-7 (36 looks resulting in 27 receptions for 261 yards and his only touchdown catch on the year), Bowers saw five targets in Week 8’s 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday.

According to Getsy, the lack of looks was a result of Las Vegas only having two long drives in the first half and Kansas City’s offense doing a good job of preserving possessions and getting long drives of their own.

“Brock is a big part of what we do. And yes, teams will be influenced by him,” Getsy noted. “And I think with us getting some guys back from injury, I think that will help all those things, and we’ll continue to play on that.”

Whatever the reason, Getsy has a tight end that can match and beat cornerbacks who match up with wide receivers. That cannot be ignored and must be taken advantage of, especially since the Raiders wide receiver group is miles behind the rookie tight end in production.

“Yes, I mean absolutely. I mean, that’s the name of this game, right? Your best players have to play at their best,” Getsy said when asked about the challenge he faces in continuing to get Bowers involved in the game plan and opening him up for looks as it has become clear that the rookie is having a sensational first season. “And if you’re going to play against the two-time reigning world champions, you have to make sure your best players do what they do. And so that’s always important, and that will always be a focus in what we do.”

Getsy better do his best to focus on Bowers. With his eight-game total, ESPN projects the 6-foot-1, 230-pounder to have 111 receptions for 1,137 yards if the Raiders keep up the output. Those numbers would shatter the NFL record for rookie catches set last year by Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (105 receptions).

In a floundering 2024 campaign, that would be something to look forward to for the Raiders.

Series history: The Raiders and Bengals have met a total of 34 times, with the Silver & Black leading the overall series 21-13 (19-12 in regular season games, 2-1 in postseason games). Cincinnati is undefeated against the Las Vegas variety, but has won its last two games: a November 2021 regular-season game 32-13 and a 2022 playoff game 26-19. The last game the Raiders won was in 2019: a 17-10 victory in Oakland. In the last 10 games between the two teams, the series is even at 5-5.

Important quotes:

“Yeah, I think on most plays you have a chance if you do it right. Boys can do well on most plays. And I think there were opportunities to do it, but we didn’t do it. So in the end we had to look at ourselves. Everyone needs to see: ‘How can I do my job better?’ And I think we do. I feel good about how we’re approaching this week, the attitude of the guys, the attitude of the coaches. I think everyone comes in and puts on their work hat and is ready to get back to work afterward. —Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew on the play-calling vs. execution debate.

“I mean, when you do things like that, they’re like unexamined looks, right? So you get the question, “What is their specific response?” So that way, as you go along, okay if they have an unexplored look, we expect, like this is going to be their response. And so when you do something like that, you don’t want him to always be at tight end, we’re always running towards him, or you’re always running away from him, or you’re always in protection. . You want to make sure you have enough that they need to be prepared for while they’re also going through their game week.” -Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy on offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr. lining up at wide receiver for a game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8.