Bowen was an all-state, all-area and all-conference selection as a quarterback at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Bowen was a four-year letterwinner (1996–99) at Iowa, he started his final two seasons and earned second-team All-America recognition and first-team All-Big Ten honors.

[2] He earned St. Louis' Rookie of the Year award after starting at strong safety in two contests and appearing in 16 regular season games.

In 2002, Bowen appeared in all 16 games, starting six, contributing as a backup safety, a valued special teams contributor as well as a weekly participant in the club's dime package defense.

He was named the starter at strong safety during Weeks 4–7 when Antuan Edwards was sidelined with a fractured forearm.

He made his first-career postseason start against Atlanta in the NFC Wild Card playoff contest, responding to the challenge with a game- and career-high 15 tackles and two passes defensed.

Bowen signed with the Washington Redskins as a restricted free agent from the Green Bay Packers in March 2003.

In 2004, Bowen started the first five games at strong safety for the Redskins before suffering a torn ACL on his right knee on a special teams play.