Raiders TE Brock Bowers sets rookie reception mark

Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers caught four passes in the Raiders’ regular-season finale on Sunday, passing New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers and setting the NFL’s single-season rookie reception record.

Narbers briefly held the record after making five game-wins in the Giants’ 20-13 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, leaving him with 109 wins on the season.

Hours later, Bowers shook off a slow start and hauled in all four of his receptions during the second half of the Raiders’ 34-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. His 110th catch came on a 21-yard connection with Aidan O’Connell in the third quarter.

Bowers finished the season with 112 receptions, the third most by a tight end in NFL history. Zach Ertz holds the single-season record for catches in a 116-catch campaign with Philadelphia in 2018.

Drafted 13th overall out of Georgia, Bowers became an immediate weapon for Las Vegas and finished with the orchestration of the most productive debut season in league history. He set the record for receiving yards for a rookie tight end, surpassing the 1,076 total yards set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka in Chicago in 1961.

Bowers has 1,194 receiving yards this season, tied for eighth in the NFL. He also scored five touchdowns on a Raiders team that went 4-13 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.

Nabers finished his first campaign with 1,204 yards, seventh in the league behind Bowers, and seven touchdowns. The sixth overall pick out of LSU was a bright spot during New York’s otherwise dismal Centennial season. New York has lost a franchise-record 14 games, including a 10-game losing streak at one point, also the franchise’s worst record.

His fourth catch on Sunday gave him 108 on the year and passed Steve Smith (2009) for the Giants’ single-season reception record.

–Field level media