​Patriots shut down Bills star, but Mike Vrabel admits Raiders’ Brock Bowers presents a huge problem originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The New England Patriots delivered one of the biggest surprises of Week 4, defeating the Buffalo Bills 29-26 while completely shutting down one of the NFL’s most productive tight ends.Now, head coach Mike Vrabel faces another difficult defensive challenge as the Patriots prepare to host the Las Vegas Raiders and superstar tight end Brock Bowers on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.New England’s defense dominated its matchup against Buffalo tight end Dalton Kincaid, who entered Week 4 leading all NFL tight ends with 263 receiving yards, including six receptions of at least 20 yards.However, the Patriots held Kincaid to just one reception for seven yards, helping New England improve to 2-2.”Brock is as elite as they come at that position,” Vrabel said Monday. “So, we’ll have a huge challenge.”Bowers has quickly established himself as one of football’s most dangerous offensive weapons.The Raiders standout has recorded 192 career receptions, surpassing Jason Witten’s previous NFL record of 188 catches by a tight end younger than 24.Bowers also reached 2,076 career receiving yards, tying Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow Sr. as the second-fastest tight end to surpass 2,000 receiving yards.Only legendary tight end Mike Ditka reached that milestone faster.Las Vegas enters Sunday’s matchup at 3-1, with Bowers and fellow tight end Michael Mayer playing important roles in the Raiders’ offensive success.Patriots found the formula to stop elite tight endsVrabel credited defensive awareness and disciplined coverage for New England’s success against Kincaid.”Felt like good coverage all day, being able to mix zone and mix man,” Vrabel explained.Veteran safety Kevin Byard helped establish the defensive tone by breaking up an early Josh Allen pass intended for Kincaid.Linebacker Robert Spillane and outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones also contributed by disrupting routes and limiting Buffalo’s passing options.However, containing Bowers could prove significantly more difficult.In my opinion, Bowers is arguably the NFL’s best tight end because of his combination of athleticism, route-running ability and playmaking skills.New England proved it can neutralize an elite tight end against Buffalo, but repeating that performance against Bowers will be a major test.If the Patriots can limit Bowers, they could position themselves for another statement victory.More NFL news:NFL referee caught on camera screaming ‘F— you’ at Cardinals’ Trey McBrideJustin Herbert leads four reasons why Chargers are an 0-4 disasterTexans’ nightmare start has reached a dangerous point after Cowboys collapseCeeDee Lamb just gave the Cowboys a blueprint for saving their seasonTrevor Lawrence finally erased one strange hole from his NFL resume