Brock Bowers’ Battle of the Bay homecoming special for Raiders star TE

Star tight end Brock Bowers grew up following the rivalry between the Raiders and 49ers as an aspiring athlete in nearby Napa, California, though he insists he never fully committed his allegiances to either side.

The same can’t be said of his mother.

“I didn’t have a dog in the fight,” the Raiders tight end smiled. “But my mom was a Niners fan.”

Once a regional rivalry in the Bay Area, the Raiders will return for a regular-season game for the first time since relocating to Las Vegas on Sunday when they play the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

“Being from Napa, everyone is either a Raiders or Niners fan,” he said. “It was always pretty fun when they played. It was always interesting to see the Battle of the Bay.”

Now Bowers will get to experience it on the field in front of some of those same people he used to watch the game with on television.

“I have a ton of people coming to the game,” he said. “Somewhere around 50 from what my mom said. I think they’re meeting up before the game. But I’m excited to go back home. It will be weird because it’s the closest I’ve played to home since high school.”

Bowers returns home as one of the biggest stars at his position in the entire league. It will be the first time he faces off against George Kittle, one of his main competitors to the crown as the NFL’s best tight end.

Kittle is excited for the matchup.

“You watch him, he runs routes fully extended like he’s Mike Evans,” Kittle said Thursday, comparing Bowers to his 49ers wide receiver teammate. “Or you put him in tight, and he’s running routes on safeties and linebackers. And then the way he attacks the ball … there’s no one that really does it like him.

“He’s a very unique player. I don’t think people give him enough credit for his burst and speed. He’s going to go out there, and I think he’s going to be a huge challenge for our defense. I have no idea what our game plan for him is, but slow him down a little bit, guys.”

That has been easier said than done.

Bowers last week surpassed Hall of Famer Mike Ditka on the all-time list for most yards by a non-wide receiver in his first 35 games with 2,421. He’s also the first tight end in NFL history to have at least 70 receiving yards in each of his first six games of the season, despite missing the first two games after undergoing a knee procedure just before the opener.

Many of those yards have come on plays where Bowers was covered by two or even three defenders, a situation quarterback Kirk Cousins has had to train himself to ignore. He has learned Bowers is open even when he’s not.

“I think during camp we had a few miscues where it was thrown over the top (because of coverage),” Bowers said. “I just told him to put it back shoulder somewhere in my area and I’ll go get it. We had a few of those conversations, but it’s just a trust we’ve built.

“We’ve had so many reps together through OTAs and camp and throughout the season. It’s hard not to build that trust.”

Some of those throws into traffic have produced some spectacular highlight-reel catches.

Not that Bowers is paying attention.

“It just happens and I don’t really think about it,” he said of not spending much time watching his own clips. “It kind of happens and it’s over with.”

One of the biggest challenges for a defense that hopes to stay off those highlight reels is to even find Bowers before the snap. The Raiders move him all over the place in an effort to free him up.

“He’s a tremendous talent,” offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko said. “So, he’s somebody that we try to utilize a bunch of different ways, and he’s a guy that’s going to do everything full speed 100 percent of the time. Whether he’s first in the progression, last in the progression, what he’s doing in the run game, what he’s doing as far as when we ask him to block and when we ask him to run routes, he’s just trying to do whatever he can do to the best of his ability and be the best in the world at what he does.”

Many of his friends and family will get to see that in person on Sunday.

“It’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait,” he said. “Just to play in front of everyone is going to be awesome. I know some are still Niners fans, but I’m excited to shoot them a text and tell them what’s up.”

He has converted at least one over to the other side, however.

“(My mom’s) not Niners fan anymore,” he said.

Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.