Brock Bowers sets rookie record as Raiders debut new offense

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- To paraphrase the immortal words of Herm Edwards, of course the main goal of playing the game is to win it.

But you could not have blamed Brock Bowers for the sly smile that crept across his face in the aftermath of theLas Vegas Raiders' 34-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

After all, Bowers had just set an NFL record for most receptions in a game by a rookie tight end. His 13 catches on 16 targets for a career-best 126 yards and a 23-yard catch-and-run touchdown highlighted a pseudo-new-look offense under interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who had his father, longtime NFL playcaller Norv, sitting at his side in the press box for the game.

"There was definitely a few plays in [the playbook] for me, for sure," Bowers said.

"My job [is] just to catch the ball and get yards. I mean, that's about it."

The television broadcast caught the elder Turner giving his son congratulations on his job after the call that resulted in Bowers catching a pass in the right flat and then speeding into the end zone late in the third quarter.

So with Bowers the unquestioned focal point of Turner's offense on the day -- even with the return of tight end Michael Mayer, who played for the first time since Week 3 due to personal issues -- the Raiders offense did at least look better in Turner's debut as Las Vegas' playcaller, right?

Well, under former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who was fired along with offensive line coach James Cregg and QB coach Rich Scangarello entering the team's bye two weeks ago, the Raiders had the worst running attack in the NFL, averaging 76.9 yards per game.

Against the Dolphins, the Raiders managed a mere 60 yards on the ground.

The Raiders also entered the game averaging 18.7 points per game; they scored 19 against Miami.

And quarterback Gardner Minshew, who completed 30 of 43 passes for 282 yards, committed his 13th turnover of the season, his ninth interception.

"I thought the communication was clean," Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. "Obviously, we had that late turnover, but I thought Gardner was efficient. Still need to get the running game going."

About that: running back Alexander Mattison, who had 19 rushing yards on five carries, left the game late with an ankle injury and later had a walking boot on his right foot.

"But I thought, out front there wasn't a lot of miscues up there," Pierce added. "We just have to keep executing and strain a little bit more. We had opportunities.

"It's not good enough when you don't score enough to win."

The Raiders, who fell to 2-8, are riding their first six-game losing streak since closing the 2017 season with four straight losses and opening the 2018 season with three defeats in a row, their first in-season six-game losing streak since opening the 2014 season 0-10.

Trying to jumpstart the offense with Turner's vision was one way to hit the reset button over the bye.

But being just 1-of-3 in the red zone while losing the time of possession battle 33:12-26:48 felt uncomfortably familiar.

Meanwhile, Bowers keeps getting more comfortable as the season drags on.

"Everything just feels like it's slowing down every game," Bowers said. "So it just keeps getting [slower]. The pace of play, I keep getting used to it."

Bowers now leads all NFL tight ends in catches (70) and receiving yards (706), and he joined Pierce's former New York Giants teammate Jeremy Shockey as the only rookie tight ends in NFL history to have multiple games with at least 10 catches, as Shockey did it in 2002.

And Bowers had a fan on the opposite sideline.

"Bowers is legit," said Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. "We knew coming out of the draft. We were very high on him, and he didn't disappoint. He's going to be a player that everybody knows for years to come, in my opinion."

The type of player an offense could build around.

"We're trying to do everything we can to feature our best player, and he's playing like that," Pierce said. "He's tough, he's physical, doesn't want to come out the game. He's staying in the run game. I mean he's doing everything he's asked to do as a rookie and we just need more and more guys to keep making more plays like him."