Covered or not, Las Vegas Raiders offense must flow through Brock Bowers

Key Highlights

• In back-to-back games, Denver’s defense (ranked 4th and 5th best in points allowed (218) and yards (3,437), respectively, had difficulty containing the Travis Kelce in Week 11 and Zach Ertz this past Sunday night. By The NumbersTight Ends Productions Against Denver Broncos (last 2 games)Week 13: Washington Commanders, Zach Ertz, 10 receptions, 106 yards (long of 21)Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs, Travis Kelce, 9 receptions, 91 yards, 1 touchdown (long of 21)Now, this isn’t to say the Broncos defense didn’t rise to the occasion when matched up against Ertz.
• The play above highlights a great pass break up by linebacker Alex Singleton on a 3rd-and-21 situation the Commanders faced. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYet, watching a 35-year-old tight end get open and almost come down with a big first down play against your stout defense is a disconcerting thing for Denver.
• Ertz also couldn’t come down with a potential touchdown reception, too.
• Ertz’s 10 catches for 106 yards is the Stanford product’s highest production this season and the 6-foot-5 and 250-pound 13-year veteran has 49 receptions for 493 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. And that was coming off a bye week. In Week 11, the 36-year-old Kelce dropped 91 yards and one touchdown (fourth quarter to allow Kansas City to take a 19-16 lead) in Denver’s 22-19 victory.
• That game marked the Cincinnati product’s second-highest output of the year (six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders the high mark). Being susceptible to aging tight ends is something that should stand out on film for Olson.