Uniquely Talented Brock Bowers Creates Unusual Conundrum for Seahawks' Defense
Few teams, if any, have personnel better equipped to handle talented tight ends than Mike Macdonald's Seahawks. But facing arguably the best tight end in the game on Sunday creates a new set of challenges in Klint Kubiak's familiar, yet evolved, offense.
During an uneven 5-4 start, the Seattle Seahawks have been exposed to no shortage of star tight ends, generally holding up quite well defending a position that continues to play a major role in the evolution of NFL offenses.
Securing a 17-3 win over the Cardinals last week, the Seahawks did a fine job in their second matchup against All-Pro talent Trey McBride, limiting him to just 54 yards on seven receptions with no touchdowns. One week earlier, Bears rising star Colston Loveland gave Mike Macdonald's defense a bit of trouble with seven catches for 65 yards, while 49ers veteran George Kittle had a quiet game with five receptions for 24 yards in Week 5 and future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce was held in check with just 44 receiving yards in Week 6.
But after facing a gauntlet of Kittle, Kelce, Loveland, and McBride in successive weeks, Macdonald and company may face their greatest challenge yet on Sunday trying to conjure up a plan to slow down Raiders superstar Brock Bowers, whose one of a kind skill set in former Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's scheme creates quite a conundrum for defenses that no other tight end can match.
"To their credit, they’ve evolved," Macdonald said of how Kubiak's offense in Vegas compares to his one season in Seattle. "They’re building it around the people that they have and they’re doing it at a high level. I respect how they operate obviously and they have great people and good players. They’re moving the ball and putting up a lot of points."
Taking on the identity of their new head coach, the Raiders indeed have put points on the board in bunches through the first nine weeks, ranking eighth averaging 26.4 points per game. At the center of Kubiak's high-octane attack, doing so without the presence of a true No. 1 wideout, Bowers has been putting on a show unrivaled by any other tight end in the league.
Just how special of a season has Bowers enjoyed thus far paired with Kubiak?
