Las Vegas had New Orleans guessing from the opening snap.

With Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer on the field together, the Saints probably expected a run. Instead, Bowers lined up wide on the Raiders’ first play, and Kirk Cousins hit him on an out route for eight yards.

Two more catches ended up coming on that opening drive. By the time Las Vegas settled for a field goal, Bowers had three receptions for 37 yards — and New Orleans had already gotten the message.

The tight end was back. But the bigger story was that the Raiders could line up in heavy personnel without tipping their hand.

Bowers finished his season debut with 10 catches on 13 targets for 116 yards and the game-winning touchdown in a 35-27 comeback win. The box score was impossible to miss. But the way Las Vegas put it together could be even more important for the rest of the season.

The Raiders Can Hide A Receiver Inside A Heavy Package

Klint Kubiak didn’t ease Bowers into anything.

Bowers played 55 of Las Vegas’ 70 offensive snaps. Mayer played 61. Because there were only 70 snaps to go around, the two tight ends had to share the field on at least 46 of them. Meanwhile, no Raiders wide receiver played more than 40 snaps.

That’s not a wrinkle. That’s the offense.

Through three weeks, Las Vegas has used 11 personnel — the standard one-back, one-tight-end, three-receiver grouping — on only 25.3% of its plays, the lowest rate in the NFL. The Raiders have used 21 personnel on 23.2% and 22 personnel on 17.9%. The league averages are 7.3% and 3.5%.

Those numbers tell defenses to get bigger. Bowers makes that dangerous.

He lined up as the wide target on 37.1% of his snaps against New Orleans, in the slot on 40%, and inline on only 22.8%. According to ESPN’s Ben Solak, 24 of his 33 routes came from the slot or out wide, and all 13 targets came from those alignments.

So what exactly is a defense supposed to call him?

If they respond to Bowers and Mayer being out there with base personnel, Las Vegas can move Bowers and ask a linebacker or safety to cover a receiver wearing a tight end’s number. If they bring on a fifth defensive back, Mayer can stay at the line and the Raiders can run at a lighter box with Ashton Jeanty or Mike Washington Jr.

New Orleans Never Found A Comfortable Answer

The Saints weren’t getting steamrolled the entire afternoon. Jeanty needed 19 carries to pick up 56 yards, and Las Vegas averaged 4.2 yards a rush — mostly because Washington broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown.

That’s what made the matchup so tricky. New Orleans could win individual snaps and still never found an answer that worked consistently.

Bowers converted five third downs. On third-and-14 late in the first half, he made a twisting, 15-yard sideline catch with safety Jonas Sanker draped all over him. In the third quarter, he picked up 20 yards on third-and-4 to start the drive that ended with Washington’s long touchdown.

Then, after the Raiders took a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Bowers beat Sanker on another out-breaking route for a four-yard touchdown on third down. Las Vegas had lost two yards on second-and-2 and still found their best matchup when they needed four yards.

Mayer created a problem of his own. He caught all three of his targets for 32 yards, including a touchdown over safety Justin Reid. Together, the tight ends accounted for 13 of Cousins’ 20 completions, 148 of his 248 passing yards and two of his three touchdowns.

Keep bigger defenders on the field and Bowers turns into the Raiders’ No. 1 receiver. Go small and Kubiak still has Mayer, a fullback, and more than one running back to choose from.

Bowers Changes More Than The Target Order

Las Vegas had already started 2-0 without Bowers by putting up 27 points against Miami and 26 against the Chargers. The Raiders didn’t need him to save a broken offense. They needed him to take away the easiest ways to defend an offense that was already leaning into that size and versatility.

Cousins targeted Bowers on 43.3% of his passes Sunday, but this wasn’t just a case of force-feeding a star. Bowers changes who can be on the field.

Cousins compared learning to play with Bowers to his early days with Justin Jefferson, which is some pretty high praise:

I had this with Justin Jefferson where, early on, you don’t realize just how good he was as a player. Then you play with him longer and start to realize, ‘Oh, okay, practice didn’t really show just how good he is.’ So I think games with Brock will be important for us to continue to build that rapport.

The Raiders are 3-0 for the first time since 2021 and have already matched last season’s win total. Now they get another undefeated team in Kansas City, with Bowers finally back in an offense built to make his listed position feel almost irrelevant.

The Raiders are taking on the undefeated Chiefs this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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