Raiders to remain cautious with Brock Bowers entering Chiefs game

The Raiders gave themselves a chance to head into their bye week next week on a two-game winning streak after Sunday’s 20-10 victory over the Titans.

Standing in their way: a trip to Kansas City to play the three-time defending AFC champion Chiefs.

As history has shown over the past few years, a healthy Raiders team is no guarantee to beat the Chiefs (3-3), let alone without their best offensive player. But that could be the task the Raiders face if tight end Brock Bowers isn’t cleared to play.

Bowers has missed the past two games with a left knee injury he suffered in a season-opening win over the Patriots. Coach Pete Carroll remains optimistic that Bowers will play Sunday, but the Raiders (2-4) are being cautious.

As important as Sunday’s game is, so, too, is the extra time Bowers will get with the bye week to come back as healthy as possible against the Jaguars on Nov. 2

“I’m hopeful, but we’re looking after him,” Carroll said. “There’s a big bye coming up. An extra week, a couple of weeks you get before you have to come back, so I can’t tell you. You look at the long haul of it. It might be best to just guarantee that he’s full speed and back.”

Could have been better

Raiders linebacker Devin White filled up a lot of boxes on the stat sheet in Sunday’s game, coming up with a team-high nine tackles, a strip sack, a fumble recovery and an interception. Carroll praised the veteran linebacker, while half-kiddingly pointing out the four missed tackles by White.

White took the misses even more seriously.

“I feel like I’ve got a lot more work to do. I’ve got to clean some things up,” he said. “Sometimes I’m just running too fast.”

It beats the alternative, of course.

“I’d rather run fast than be out there not giving my all for my team, and I think it shows,” White said.

Regardless, he knows he has a ways to go to return to the Pro Bowl level he showed earlier in his career with the Buccaneers. Until then, he keeps chipping away.

“I’ve got to put together a full season, and then I can start talking about myself, being back to when I was playing at a very, very high level,” White said. “It’s also going to come from the coaching staff putting me in the position, and my teammates trusting me to be where I’m supposed to be to make these plays.”

Progress shown

By no means were the Raiders printing playoff tickets after beating the lowly Titans, who fired coach Brian Callahan on Monday after a 1-5 start. But they took satisfaction in winning the key categories Carroll has prioritized.

They were plus-two in turnover differential, scored two touchdowns on four trips to the red zone, stayed committed to the run game and gave their defense a chance to play with a double-digit lead for only the second time this season.

“It was complementary football,” Carroll said. “That’s kind of how we’ve won over the years, and it doesn’t have to be as productive. It just needs to be really solid, and you keep the ball away from the other guys and get a chance to win the turnover thing, and all that happened.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.