Jakobi Meyers said he could talk about him all day. About his preparation, his skill, his work ethic.

About the sort of difference he makes on an NFL field.

“I just enjoy being out there and watching the show,” the wide receiver said. “You know what you’re going to get out of him every single week. He just does all the little things. He plays extremely hard, catches the ball, everything you need. He’s a really good player and a really good dude.

“I have a son, and if he turns out like that, I’ll be OK.”

Yes. Tight end Brock Bowers has fans inside the locker room as well as outside.

Meyers and his Raiders teammates know what they have in Bowers. The nation learned about it again Sunday.

His team lost to the Jaguars 30-29 in overtime at Allegiant Stadium, but not before Bowers again displayed why he is one the league’s bright young stars.

Coming off injury

“Can it be more obvious what a great player he is?” coach Pete Carroll said. “We had a way to get him the ball. Just great efficiency, and his run after catch was excellent. His playmaking was excellent.”

And to think: Bowers was coming off a knee injury that cost him the previous three games.

You would have never known it. Never guessed he had been hurt. The burst was back. The athleticism. The ability to make plays others can’t.

Not everyone can haul in a one-handed catch for a touchdown as he’s falling to the ground.

Bowers can and did for his team’s first score and a 6-0 lead.

“I was bummed when they first called it incomplete,” Bowers said of an initial ruling that was overturned. “It felt great to be back on the field, but obviously not the ending we wanted.

“I’m glad everyone fought to the very end. It’s hard not playing because all you want is to be out there. I feel healthy, though. It’s just frustrating the way things ended.”

He caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns, the first multiple score game of his NFL career. He’s also the first tight end since 2021 to record 100-yard receiving games in two of his first five outings in a season.

He’s now tied for the most 100-yard games among tight ends in NFL history in his first 22 games.

The accolades just keep on coming.

It’s such a different offense, a different feel, with him playing. He makes Geno Smith a better quarterback, and the Raiders need anything possible for that to occur.

Meyers made another good point: Bowers’ presence immediately takes some of the defensive focus off running back Ashton Jeanty.

Which makes you wonder why the Raiders at times seem to abandon the ground game. They rushed 19 times Sunday. Jeanty had only 13 carries. It’s a losing way of doing things.

But scanning the field for Bowers is always a good thing.

“I just tried to stay locked in the last three to four weeks,” he said. “It’s just important not to lose faith and stay steady and get back out there and keep grinding. Good things will happen.”

It’s tough to look at a 2-6 record and agree. The Raiders did some good things on both sides of the ball Sunday and yet still couldn’t close the deal. They also failed enough on both to determine their own fate.

Going for it

What they didn’t do, thank heavens, was settle for a tie.

Carroll chose to go for two and the win after Bowers caught his third touchdown. It was the right decision. It was the only decision.

“Can’t think about that right now,” Bowers said. “We made the decision to go for two and win the game, and we have trust in all our guys to make plays. We just fell a little short.”

Not because of him.

Brock Bowers put on a show Sunday.

The kind that only the most talented of players can.

What knee injury?

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.