LAS VEGAS (AP) — The only time this season the Raiders’ offense looked at least somewhat formidable was in their opening 20-13 victory at New England.
Brock Bowers, arguably the NFL’s top tight end, entered his second season by catching five passes for 103 yards. It also was in that game that he injured a knee. That greatly limited his impact the following three weeks before he briefly shut it down to recover more fully.
Now, Bowers is back, and Las Vegas is hopeful this is the version capable of dominating an opponent when the Jacksonville Jaguars visit Sunday, especially after a bye week that provided extra time to heal.
“He looks like he’s full speed and he’s back,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “Last week with the three days that we had, he looked good every day, particularly good on the Monday practice. He kind of stole the show a little bit, so we’re thrilled to have him back.”
The Raiders (2-5) need the playmaking ability Bowers provides. Geno Smith passed for 362 yards that day against the Patriots but hasn’t topped 300 since and hasn’t even eclipsed 200 in the past four games.
Whether Bowers solves Las Vegas’ passing woes remains to be seen, but he is eager to try.
“It sucked,” he said of not playing. “We’re through it now. It’s in the past, so I’m excited to go back out there.”
Bowers’ return isn’t exactly great timing for the Jaguars (4-3), who are coming off back-to-back losses. Jacksonville also had a bye to try to get its season heading in the right direction.
“He’s a great tight end,” said Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker, who played with Bowers at Georgia. “You can go turn on the tape and see that. I think he’s one of the best tight ends in the league.”
Two-way star Hunter injured and uncertain
Rookie Travis Hunter had been in line to become Jacksonville’s No. 1 receiver. Then he injured a knee, presumably in practice Thursday.
Hunter showed up on the injury report as a limited participant, an indication he got hurt in practice. If it’s anything significant, it would be a huge blow for Jacksonville.
With Brian Thomas Jr. struggling to catch the ball — he has nine drops and short-armed several more attempts — Hunter was expected to be quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s top option coming out of the bye.
Hunter caught eight passes for a career-high 101 yards and a touchdown against the Rams, a sign the two-way player is ready for a larger role on offense.
“You definitely look at: How much more can he handle? How much more can we put him in a position to be successful on both offense and defense? And what does that look like?” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said.
Hunter likely was never falling to No. 6 in this year’s draft — the Heisman Trophy winner went second — so the Raiders didn’t have a realistic chance to select him. But Carroll said he would have played Hunter both ways if he had landed in Las Vegas.
“He’s been playing both ways since he was in little league football, and he hasn’t known it any different,” Carroll said. “So it seems so unique to everybody (else) for this to occur, but it isn’t to him.”
Tough stretch for the Raiders
Las Vegas won’t have a lot of time to decompress after Sunday’s game because the Raiders play at Denver four days later.
“I hate that (stuff), I ain’t going to lie,” Raiders linebacker Jamal Adams said. “Especially the older you get, it’s tough on the body. You can play Sunday and your body don’t even snap back until Friday of next week or sometimes Saturday right before the game. But, obviously, we understand what we’re up against and that’s part of the NFL, so we’ve got to do our best to recover the body right away.”
The Raiders will catch a little bit of a scheduling break after facing the Broncos. Their next game will be 11 days later on a Monday night against Dallas.
Jags’ Hines-Allen insists sacks are ‘going to come’
Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen has half a sack through seven games, a troubling start for a player who signed a five-year, $141 million contract in 2024.
Hines-Allen is getting decent pressure but has been unable to finish. He remains two sacks shy of breaking the franchise’s career record (55) held by Tony Brackens.
“It’s going to come,” Hines-Allen said. “Keep hunting.”
Familiar face on other side
Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell was Seattle’s special teams captain when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in the 2013 season under Carroll.
“I love to see our guys be successful in those kinds of roles,” Carroll said. “He does a good job. They have a really good special teams unit. They were very active and very good at covering kicks. It’s great to see it. I love running across our guys. I love beating them.”
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AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.
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Mark Anderson, The Associated Press