NaVorro Bowman vs. Paxton Lynch
Well, here is a matchup nobody could have expected back in Week 1. Oakland will trot out its veteran inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman on Sunday so that he can hopefully play chess to Broncos starting quarterback Paxton Lynch’s not-so impressive checkers game.
More from Just Blog Baby
- Raiders news: Free agent TE Foster Moreau diagnosed with cancer
- Order your Jimmy Garoppolo Las Vegas Raiders gear now
- Las Vegas Raiders: 2023 NFL Draft will make-or-break David Ziegler Era
- Raiders news: Jimmy Garoppolo offered a different kind of deal
- Raiders 2023 NFL Draft: Trading down for an elite DT on Day 1
Bowman is a borderline hall of fame player. He was a four-time All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers in his prime. However, he has been thrust in to duty as essentially an on-field player/coach in a bad Raiders’ linebacking corps. His responsibilities are only to increase after Ken Norton Jr.’s firing on Tuesday.
Lynch will be making his first start of the season for the Broncos. He is a former first-round pick by the Broncos out of Memphis in 2016. Lynch has made two career starts as a rookie, but his inability to beat out either Trevor Siemian or Brock Osweiler as the Broncos starting quarterback tells you everything you need to know about how little he is progressing as a pro passer.
Next: 5 Oakland Raiders to watch vs. Denver Broncos in Week 12
To be fair, Lynch is big and mobile. If he figures it out upstairs, he does have the natural abilities similar to Cam Newton. However, the cerebral part of the game has thus far escaped him. Look for Bowman to try to out scheme the new Broncos’ starting quarterback in pretty much a cross-off game for both teams on Sunday afternoon in Oakland.