While every game in this league is winnable, there aren't too many on the Las Vegas Raiders' schedule that look entirably favorable for them in the 2026 NFL season. But playing at home against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 is just about as "easy" as it gets for Klint Kubiak's young team.
Yes, the Dolphins are in an even earlier stage of their rebuild than the Raiders are, and they are pretty outmatched, at least on paper, at most positions. But the crux of this optimistic feeling heading into the opener was the fact that Miami didn't have a soul on their roster who could cover Brock Bowers.
To be fair, there aren't many people on the planet who can do that, but some teams and players can do a better job than others. But the devastating and sudden news that Bowers won't be playing on Sunday due to a knee injury takes this massive Silver and Black advantage off the table.
Bowers being sidelined is the ultimate bailout for a Dolphins team that really had no answers for the All-Pro tight end.
Raiders' Brock Bowers being out just saved the Dolphins' young defense
Look, Miami head coach Jeff Hafley is a bright defensive mind, and I am sure he had something in the works to at least attempt to slow Bowers down. But when looking at their depth chart, no obvious solutions were present when it came to such a thing.
Here were their options to put on Bowers:
Jordyn Brooks (veteran LB)
Chris Johnson (1st-round rookie CB)
Jacob Rodriguez (2nd-round rookie LB)
Kyle Louis (4th-round rookie SAF/LB)
Michael Taaffe (5th-round rookie SAF)
Brooks is a very good player, and one of the most elite run-stopping linebackers in the NFL. The guy is everywhere and makes a billion tackles. But he is notoriously bad in coverage, as last year, Pro Football Focus gave him a 52.7 grade after giving up 71 catches for 682 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Pat Surtain II has trouble covering Bowers at times. What hope did Brooks have?
Chris Johnson had the best chance of sticking with Bowers, as he was a high draft pick for a reason, and justifiably a pre-draft favorite in Raider Nation. But even though he's a good size for a nickel and moves well in coverage, it's hard to imagine a rookie, in his first NFL game, actually locking up Bowers.
The Dolphins clearly had a heavy presence and put a lot of weight on the Senior Bowl in January, as they saw what I saw with Johnson, Rodriguez, Louis and Taaffe all performing well. But I can also tell you from being on-site at the event that none of these players can slow Bowers down. At all.
Concerns about Rodriguez's coverage skills, for all the good stuff that he does on a football field, popped up in the preseason, as he relinquished three catches for 47 yards in just 11 coverage snaps in two exhibition games. That was against Colson Yankoff, Ben Sinnott and Darius Slayton.
Bowers, in all honesty, would have put Rodriguez in a blender. It's not like late-rounders Louis or Taaffe would have fared much better, either, especially in their first NFL game. And safety Dante Trader Jr. doesn't have the size to hang with Bowers, nor does Zayne Anderson have the skills or experience.
All of this is to say that Bowers would have dominated the Dolphins on Sunday, as they did not have a conceivable option to slow him down. This could have easily tilted the balance in the matchup even more, but the Raiders will have to do without their star tight end this week, and perhaps longer.
Raiders should have solid contingency plan, given Brock Bowers' reported injury timeline
Miami may have been scrambling for some time trying to figure out how to stop Bowers or contain him, but they are probably scrambling even more now. Their game plan probably revolved around the head of the snake, and now, they've got to deal more with the rest of the unpredictable bunch.
This is where Kubiak and Co. can gain an advantage, even though there is no replacing Bowers' production, impact or gravity on the field.
According to the reported timeline that NFL Network's Ian Rapoport provided on Wednesday, the Raiders knew that Bowers was banged up in training camp, and this injury was diagnosed last week, which could be anywhere from four to nine days prior to this report.
If those really are the facts here, then the coaching staff in Las Vegas had a head start of, let's say, a week on Miami, and they've given themselves at least 10 days to prepare for a regular season game without their star in the mix. That's still not ideal, but it's certainly better than nothing.
A lot of fans are upset with Kubiak for what they perceive to be blatant lying to the media and public about Bowers' injury, considering the head coach said that "We are expecting to have all our guys ready for Sunday." Bowers is, obviously, one of the Raiders' guys. And he is not playing Sunday.
Back in the day, this may have been called gamesmanship, but even if there is a thread of truth to the notion that Kubiak flat-out lied, the hope is that his swerving of the truth gave Las Vegas some kind of competitive advantage. If the Raiders win in Week 1, something tells me that all will be forgiven.
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