Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' week 4 away matchup vs. the Chicago Bears where the Raiders let a winnable game slip away as they fall to the Bears 20-22.
This one hurts. This game adds on to a list of heartbreaking games the last 12 years. This game shows that the Bears are better than their 0-3 record indicates. They've had to play a tough first three games against Green Bay, Arizona, and Seattle. Don't get me wrong, this was very competitive, both of these teams were making a lot of mistakes, but the Raiders got too conservative at the end and it proved costly in the long run.
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Michael Crabtree, 5 receptions, 80 yards. The Bears' defense had Amari Cooper on lock. After allowing 47 yards and 1 TD, Cooper was nowhere to be seen and credit to the Bears, they know when to double and put Safety help on whoever's covering Cooper. This left a lot of opportunity for Michael Crabtree to rack up some yardage and he cashed in big time. And the thing is, he was battling an ankle injury after a Bears defender landed on it while he was trying to make a block for Cooper. But Crabtree, he was making a lot of critical catches on third down to extend the drives that the Raiders' offense was fielding together. We were blinded by Crabtree's lack of heart when he was with the 49ers, but to see him play through the pain and step up when needed, he continues to warm up the hearts of Raider Nation.
Roy Helu Jr., 5 carries, 22 yards, 2 receptions, 13 yards, 1 TD. Latavius Murray struggled this game, so this allowed Helu to put up some highlights. His TD in the 2nd quarter after the Raiders recovered a fumble was a thing of beauty as he eluded two defenders in what would've been a tackle for a loss. It was textbook example of change of direction. Hopefully he gets the playbook on hand in the future so he can get more reps because he definitely missed a lot of time during the preseason.
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Latavius Murray, 16 carries, 49 yards, 3 receptions, 12 yards. I could say had Murray didn't deflect a would-be catch from Derek Carr, which lead to an INT and the fumble early in the 4th quarter, it would've different story, but things happen in football on such rare occasions. Murray's stats would indicate that he had an okay game, but he stunk it up this game. I wouldn't say all game because he did have some decent runs this game. I'm not sure if his shoulder injury played a factor, but it was not a good game for the Tay Train.
3rd-4th down defense. 4th and 5, game on the line, and all you had to do was just stop them to tact on the 3rd win. But as usual, the awful secondary and the lack of pressure from the D-line because Ken Norton, Jr. called a conservative play allowed Martellus Bennett to make one heck of a catch. That was the game right there. The Raiders defense couldn't help themselves to get off the field all game, especially on 3rd down. You'd think on 4th and 5, they'd finally get it together, but it just wasn't meant to be. This is especially going to be a problem when the Raiders face the Broncos next week.
Conclusion
Overall, this game is just going to be a tough pill to swallow. But I guess this was necessary because the Raiders wouldn't want to get too high next week when facing the Broncos in a meaningful division game. 2-2 is not the end of the world, but definitely we'd like it if this were a W. Next week is still a meaningful game, but it's definitely concerning because we can definitely envision Peyton Manning carving this secondary up. The D-line is definitely going to have to turn it up notch for next week. On a side note, F--- John Fox. I can't stand him since he was in Denver. Always running up the score during those years and he was trying to do some more antics to this Raiders team. I just can't stand him. On another note, I have something special for next week's game and it will be another entry to my TrueRaiderLaker Productions stint. I'll unveil that later and I'll see you guys next week for the game against the Broncos.
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