HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — An NFL head coach eventually realizes if a rookie has the ‘it’ factor.
Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce knows the moment he saw it in tight end Brock Bowers.
“The day he walked in the door,” Pierce said Wednesday. “We knew we were getting a blue chipper. I mean, he did it day one at Georgia when he walked on campus. And he did it each and every game, each and every year.
“And he got here in rookie minicamp, and he got pads on at training camp ... then we slowed him down a little bit because he was pushing himself. And to be honest, I mean we knew what we got, just didn’t want to speak on it until he did it.”
Through the first two games of the season, he’s done it.
And it seems everyone except the shy 21-year-old from Napa, California is comfortable speaking on it.
“I could tell when he first showed up,” said wide receiver Davante Adams, who was part of a panel of veterans who spoke to the rookies when they first arrived in Las Vegas. “And I could just tell by the way he spoke and the way he was locked in, he didn’t really seem like he cared about anything other than football.
“You got those type of dudes that’s young, and they come in like that and just lock in and grow and learn from all the veteran players you can see something special in them.”
Asked how he was able to break the ice with someone whose character is stoic and reserved, Adams said he still isn’t sure his young teammate has thawed out.
"We still skating,” Adams said. “I don’t know if it's ever been fully broken.”
On the field, though, Bowers is scorching.
Bowers, who had nine catches for 98 yards in Sunday’s 26-23 come-from-behind win in Baltimore, is the first tight end in NFL history with at least five receptions and 50 receiving yards in each of his first two games.
Bowers’ 15 receptions and 156 yards the two games are the most for a rookie tight end since the merger. He also ranks second in the league in highest catch percentage (88.2%) on targets in the NFL this season, with a minimum of 15 targets, behind Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin (93.8%).
“I just kind of come and do my job, and I just feel like I go about my business,” a coy Bowers said in front of his locker, looking a bit shellshocked surrounded by reporters. “Whenever I’m in the building, I just kind of just focus on football and yeah, just getting after it.”
Bowers said his time at Georgia helped ease his transition from college to pro, and it's been a championship mentality and attention to detail that Pierce has been appreciative of during his first official season as head coach.
“He’s tough, he loves the game,” Pierce said. “He doesn’t care how he looks, how he talks — he just wants to play ball. And that fits our mentality.”
Bowers has a chance to continue his impressive start Sunday when the Raiders host Carolina in their home opener. The Panthers have allowed a league-tying sixth-highest receptions (11) and eighth-most yards (104) to tight ends this season.
“That dude’s like, been making plays from day one,” Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “To get him in game situations, to have the trust in him has really been easy. He’s earned it the whole time, and it’s really cool to have a guy like that on your team.”
INJURY REPORT: Defensive end Maxx Crosby (ankle), linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (knee), tackle Kolton Miller (shoulder), defensive end Tyree Wilson (knee), defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (knee) and safety Chris Smith (knee) were all limited in practice on Wednesday. Linebacker Divine Deablo (oblique/concussion) and cornerback Decamerion Richardson (hamstring) did not participate.
MORE MAXX: Crosby earned his fifth-career AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors with six tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass defensed in Las Vegas’ 26-23 victory at Baltimore. His four tackles for loss are the most in a single game among AFC players this season.
The dateline of this story has been corrected to Henderson, Nev. instead of Las Vegas.
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FILE - Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Aug. 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
FILE - Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) carries the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sept. 15, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
Vinícius Júnior scored a hat trick as Real Madrid achieved a much-needed 4-0 win over Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday that was dampened by teammate Éder Militão tearing an ACL.
Madrid heard jeers in its previous two home games — a 4-0 loss to fierce rival Barcelona and 3-1 loss to AC Milan — but this easy victory may have come at a high price.
Militão crumbled to the turf while screaming and clutching the back of his right knee shortly before halftime. The central defender was taken off on a strecther. Rodrygo and Lucas Vázquez also were unable to continue after apparently sustaining muscle injuries in the first half.
“We played a good game and I am happy for the goals, but sad for the injuries to Mili, Rodry and Lucas,” Vinícius said. “I hope we can stay strong for them.”
Vinícius, who apparently felt overlooked when the Ballon d’Or went to Spain’s Rodri last week, got his second hat trick of the season and took his overall tally to 12 goals. Jude Bellingham's goal made it 2-0.
“Vinícius makes the difference and he did so again today,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “Not winning the Ballon d’Or is a detail that did not affect him as we can see today.”
Madrid is in second place, six points behind leader Barcelona.
Rodrygo was injured early in the game. The forward, who missed the clasico due to another injury, wept as he walked gingerly to the bench, where a team medic put ice on his left leg.
Worse was to come for Ancelotti when Militão went down. He pulled his jersey over his face as he was carried off on the half-hour mark. The club said he ruptured his ACL and would need surgery.
Militão tore the ACL in his other leg, his left, in the opener of last season and was out until March before coming back to help Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga.
“Three injuries in the first half is pretty rare," Ancelotti said. "The demands of the schedule sometimes does not allow players to get the rest they need, and that increases the risk of injuries. It is a problem for everyone, not just us.”
A numbed Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was brought alive by Vinícius when he cut back and curled in the opener in the 34th.
Madrid right back Dani Carvajal was already ruled out out for the season with a serious leg injury. Goalkeeper Courtois Thibaut, David Alaba and Aurélien Tchouaméni were also unavailable with their own injuries.
Ancelotti replaced Militão with youth team player Raúl Asencio, who made the most of his debut by delivering a long lobbed pass that Bellingham used, one touch, to chip over goalkeeper Sergio Herrera to double the lead in the 42nd.
Vinícius ran onto another long pass, this time by 'keeper Andriy Lunin, before rounding Herrera to make it 3-0 in the 61st. He got his third after substitute Brahim Díaz stole the ball from defender Flavien-Enzo Boyomo and laid off for his scoring partner in the 69th.
While Vinícius soared, strike partner Kylian Mbappé remained in the doldrums after France didn't want him for a second straight international period. The former Paris Saint-Germain star hasn't scored in his last four games for his new club.
“Mbappé tried to score and I believe he combined well with his teammates,” Ancelotti said. “He hasn’t scored recently, but he has always been a scorer and he will get back to scoring without a doubt.”
Osasuna, the only team to beat Barcelona in the league, failed to get a shot on goal.
Before kickoff, Madrid unfurled a huge banner in the stands representing the flag for Spain’s Valencia region during a moment of silence for more than 200 people who died in last week’s catastrophic floods in eastern Spain.
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Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti applauds at the end of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe is challenged by Osasuna's Alejandro Catena, right, during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti grimaces before the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior challenges for the ball with Osasuna's Jesus Areso during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham celebrates with Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Eder Militao is stretchered off the pitch after an injury during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
