NFL Game Of The Week: Chicago Bears at Las Vegas Raiders

Raiders vs. Bears evoke memories of classic battles of times gone by. Wind-swept games at Soldier Field. Rowdy fans at the Oakland Coliseum. Jim McMahon. John Madden. Mike Ditka. Flash forward to 2021, and it's time for new rivalries. Gruden. Fields. Nagy. Carr. VEGAS. The Bears will travel to Allegiant Stadium Sunday to take on a 3-1 Raiders team that, until their Monday loss to the Chargers, was one of the last unbeaten teams in the NFL. Just keep winning baby.  

Chicago got a much needed win over Detroit on Sunday, beating the Lions 24-14 a week after getting beaten up by the Browns 26-6.  Bears rookie Justin Fields got the start, completing 11 of 17 passes for 209 yards with an interception. Not exactly MVP numbers, but he was sacked only once after getting knocked down nine times against Cleveland. Fields also didn't have to do it all himself for Chicago, getting help from the running game and the defense. David Montgomery ran for 106 yards and two TDs, Damien Williams ran for 55 more with one TD, and wideout Darnell Mooney hauled in five catches for 125 yards. 

On the other side of the ball, Robert Quinn recorded a key strip sack, and Khalil Mack, formerly of the Las Vegas Raiders and formally traded by the Las Vegas Raiders in a very controversial Las Vegas Raiders moment early in Jon Gruden's tenure, had a sack and a fumble recovery. Trevis Gipson, Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn also recorded a sack each as the Bears harassed Jared Goff and the 0-4 Lions all day. 

The Bears will have to continue running the ball and get after the quarterback to get past Las Vegas. They'll also have to do that to get past the Raiders. Haha see what did there? But seriously. Pound the rock. Rush the quarterback. Madden. Ditka. Soldier Field. Oh sorry, I was getting nostalgic there for a minute. Back to now. Bears RB Montgomery is averaging 4.5 yards per carry on 69 attempts. Those are encouraging signs of consistency in the run game for a team that keeps flip flopping between Fields and Andy Dalton in the quarterback department. Fields will make his second start on Sunday with Dalton still sidelined with a shoulder injury.  

Darnell Mooney, Allen Robinson, Jimmy Graham and Marquise Goodwin are all great options for Fields through the air. Between the four of them however, they have one TD catch this season. Fields did not throw that TD, and you don't need to be a Vegas number whiz to know that means he has yet to throw a TD this season.  He's due, but can he do it against Vegas?

Fortunately for the Bears, the Raiders have a middle of the pack defense. Vegas is giving up an average of 229.5 yards per game through the air, and 132.3 on the ground. Look for Montgomery to get a lot of touches and for Fields to take some shots down the field. 

Unfortunately for the Bears, Derek Carr is having a great season. He leads NFL quarterbacks with 1,399 passing yards, and the Raiders are averaging 326 yards per game through the air, good for second in the NFL. Carr has completed 64.1% of his passes and thrown 8 TDs on 3 interceptions. He three two Tds and a pick in Monday's loss, ultimately begins outdone by another QB having a great season, Justin Herbert, who threw three TDs while completing 25 of 38 passes for 222 yards, taking advantage of the Raiders vulnerable secondary. 

Another telling statistic from Monday's loss: the Raiders finished with 48 total yards on the ground against LA, which entered the game last in the league in run defense. Vegas was down three scores early on and was forced to throw more to catch up, but the silver and black are averaging 3.3 yards per carry as a team on the season, good for 80.5 a game and 26th in the NFL. They'll need to get their ground game going if they want to keep winning. 

Vegas' Henry Ruggs (14 REC 297 YDS 1 TD), Darren Waller (24 REC 274 YDS 2 Tds) and Hunter Renfrow (22 REC 229 YDS 2 TDs) are a few of the dynamic weapons that have helped contribute to Carr's early success this season. They'll be going after a Chicago defense that is giving up an average of 238.5 yards per game through the air. With the run game being a problem, Carr and co should feel good knowing Carr can turn to these targets to spark the offense. 

Prediction: Vegas gets back on track, while Fields shows flashes of brilliance against a struggling Raiders D. Las Vegas 28- Chicago 21. 

 

 

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