Raiders Gash Mack, Bears Defense

Final: CHI 21 OAK 24 (3-2)

The trade that sent Khalil Mack to the Bears for a first round pick was a case that lingered in the Raider Nation court of public opinion. This game was the equivalent of a court hearing. It was simple, Bears win, it further pushes the narrative that the Raiders made a monumental mistake. If the Raiders win, Jon Gruden walks away a free man and all of his detractors can officially shut up about gift wrapping Mack to the Bears. The verdict? He ain't guilty after this game. And guess what, the 1st round pick from the Bears went off today. This was a win of epic proportions for the Raiders. Not only did they beat a great defense, but they gashed them. As I said last week, this was going to be an interesting matchup between the O-line and the Bears' D-line and how the offense was going to gameplan against Mack. They neutralized Mack the whole game, double teaming him. That's the way to slow him down. He got free in one play during the 2nd half, but Carr was able to get rid of the ball quick. That's quite the advantage Carr has, playing on the opposite side of Mack for three years.

The Raiders came out with a great gameplan to start the first half. As mentioned, this O-line was not afraid to get head-to-toe with the Bears' vaunted front seven. They were more physical, which opened up a lot of holes for Jacobs, Washington, and Richard to run through. The Raiders didn't have Tyrell Williams this game, so they switched it up going with three Tight Ends. We all know Waller is a big time target. But Derek Carrier and Foster Moreau stepped up big to get the passing game going. Josh Jacobs had an awesome game. He's no question the MVP this game with 150 total yards and 2 rushing TDs. The 2nd TD brought the Raiders home. The Bears' first round pick to get Mack wounded up being the Josh Jacobs pick. And Gruden can't ask for better exoneration by having that first round pick gash the Bears like that.

The only negative this game is the second half. Once again, that half reared its ugly head again. Derek Carr and Josh Jacobs had a miscue on the pitch to bring the Bears back. Chicago's offense scored 21 unanswered. Honestly, when the Bears' offense is better with Chase Daniel than they were with Mitch Trubisky under center, that says a lot. But, the Raiders managed to get some momentum back with a third down stop to put Chicago out of field goal range. The fake punt with A.J. Cole running up the middle was gutsy. Gruden didn't want to take any chances to have his defense out there and stop the Bears from all three downs after giving up 21 unanswered. The defense played well today. No Clelin Ferrell, but the Raiders managed to generate 4 sacks on Chase Daniel. This is a defense that's still a WIP, but the run defense is on point. Pass defense could still use a lot of work, but this unit never breaks. As I said, Gruden wasn't taking any chance since the Bears' offense was picking up steam and the defense was making plays.

After this game, we can finally put all this Mack talk in the rear view mirror. Jon Gruden and the Raiders had to put up with this trade for one whole year. After this, we can all settle down now. With the Raiders standing at 3-2, the schedule after the bye gets a lot easier. They still got a couple of road trips to go, but the fact they're standing above .500 five games into the season is one heck of an improvement from last season. Still a lot to clean up, but these Raiders are on the come up and the bye can't come at a better time after a big time win. You're free to go Chucky! We've done our due process here since the trade. "Knock on wood if you're with me."

Raiders Bear Down in the Final Seconds vs. Bears

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.

Week 4: RAIDERS @ Chicago Bears Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

OAK 20 CHI 22

Well, this one is going to sting a little. It was a good try to win on the last minute with a little lateral. But, ultimately this game went down to who's going to make crucial mistakes down the stretch. I'd say the Latavius Murray fumble on the toss was the big one because it stalled a very solid drive Carr was putting together. There were a lot of mistakes this game and this loss is going to hurt. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

OAK 17 CHI 16

Not much in this quarter as it was a defensive battle out there. The Raiders get slight edge as they were able to generate a forced fumble on Matt Forte. David Amerson knocked it out of his hands and allowed the Raiders to gain a one point lead on a field goal by Sebass. A little shaky to see the defense out on the field for a while. They are just having a hard time getting the Bears off the field on third down.

Q2:

OAK 14 CHI 16

This quarter was a tale of momentum shift on both sides of the team. Derek Carr connects to Amari Cooper in what seemed that Cooper stepped out of bounds, but Jack Del Rio challenged it and the refs reversed it. Then, the Bears commit a fumble, Raiders cash in with a Roy Helu TD. It looked like the momentum was swinging in favor of the Raiders, but a solid drive by the Bears and an ugly interception turned things around and took away that momentum in favor of the Bears. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

OAK 0 CHI 6

We figured that if Jay Cutler was starting for the Bears, this would be a tougher road game. Well, the start of the game proved that. Defense gave up a long drive for a Bears TD and the offense's first possession with a quick 3 and out. It's a slow start on both sides of the ball, but it looks like the defense is picking it up by holding the Bears from their next two drives. The offense has to start getting it together.

RAIDERS-Bears Halftime Post

OAK 14 CHI 16

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders' 2nd straight road game vs. the Chicago Bears in a Week 4 matchup where the Bears hold on to a 14-16 lead at the half.

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Derek Carr, 11 of 16 passes, 85 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. That INT was not all Carr's fault. It completely ricocheted off of Latavius Murray's hands. Other than that, Carr has taken care of the ball and fielded together two solid drives to answer the Bears' TD on their first drive and cashed in off a fumble recovery. The stats are not that impressive, but Carr is playing an OK game.

Amari Cooper, 4 receptions, 49 yards, 1 TD. Once again, AC/DC strikes again to put the Raiders on the board. With Crabtree out with an ankle injury and Latavius Murray battling a shoulder injury, a lot is going to be asked for Cooper to make plays for Derek Carr in the 2nd half.

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Tight End coverage. Week 4 and still no end in sight to keep a tight end in check. With Jay Cutler in the Bears' huddle, that definitely boosts Martellus Bennett's game by a huge margin and he's having his way as expected. Cutler finding Bennett on a wide open TD was just laughable. It goes to show how bad our secondary is.

Bottom Line

Overall, there was not a lot of action in the first half. The Raiders deferred on the coin toss and they get the ball first. Derek Carr and the offense have to field a long, solid drive to retake the lead. Another on the side note, the Bears are dominating the Time of Possession, so it's going to be essential that the offense sustains a long drive to keep the defense fresh. At some point, the defense has just gotta find a way to cover the tight end. It's unacceptable that this ongoing this week. Let's see what happens.