It was not pretty. And at times, it was sloppy. But the Chicago Bears walked away with a 25-24 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
The win pulled the Bears back to .500 at 2-2 heading into their bye week. They’ll have two weeks to prepare for the big rematch with the Washington Commanders.
From the outset, it was clear the Bears were headed for more pressure than they endured a week ago from the Dallas Cowboys’ defense. Defensive end Maxx Crosby was all over and around Caleb Williams for most of the game. Although recording no sacks, he notched three tackles for loss, three passes defended, one quarterback hit, one interception, and countless other disruptions to the flow of the offense.
As a result, the offense looked like it took a step back from the previous week — even though we all knew the Raiders would present a tougher challenge than the Cowboys’ putrid defense did.
Williams threw for 212 yards, a touchdown and a pick on 22-of-37 passing. A week after being named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, the numbers weren’t too kind to him this week.
The Bears’ run game continued struggling to find success. D’Andre Swift managed just 38 yards on 14 carries, putting extra pressure on Caleb and the passing game. Kyle Monangai added 18 yards on 4 carries.
Veteran Cole Kmet had maybe one of his worst performances as a pro, getting flagged for false starts and failing to corral a few catchable balls. I’m not worried about him, though. He’s a pro and he’ll bounce back.
What I am worried about is that offensive line. With Darnell Wright out, Theo Benedet got the start at right tackle and got torched by Crosby. At halftime, Benedet made the switch over to left tackle, replacing Braxton Jones, and rookie Ozzy Trapilo jumped in on the right side. Things fared a little better, but this offense will continue to be limited if it fails to block better.
And unfortunately, there is no in-season quick fix for that.
Kudos are due to both Williams, for leading a go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, and Rome Odunze, who continues to have a breakout sophomore season, scoring a touchdown for the fourth-straight game, bringing his total to five on the season.
Defensively, things were every bit as bad as we expected against rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders’ back has struggled through the first three games of his professional career, and everyone — we’re talking fans, analysts, fantasy experts — expected this to be his “get right” game. The Bears defense continues to be one of the worst in the NFL at defending the run. And if they’re to try to make a playoff run, they have to find the will and the way to slow down running backs.
Aside from the run defense, the Bears’ pass rush continues to be a problem. They failed to sack Geno Smith once. You have to give them a little bit of credit for disrupting the Raiders’ quarterback enough to get him to throw three picks. But truthfully, those takeaways were more the result of phenomenal plays by Kevin Byard (2) and Tyrique Stevenson (1). Those two jumped the throwing lanes and laid out to secure the picks.
Lastly, addressing the special teams, Cairo Santos returned to the reliable field goal kicker he’s proven to be in the past, nailing all four of his field goals in a crucial, close game. Tory Taylor had a terrific coffin corner punt downed at the 2-yard line, showing glimpses of what made him such a lethal force in college, but which he has yet to show consistently at the professional level.
The return game continues to be a flop. Devin Duvernay occasionally shows the quick twitch that made him a Pro Bowl returner, but there is often little room with which to operate.
The hero of the game, however, is Josh Blackwell. The backup defensive back had a terrific jump on the Raiders’ go-ahead field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter and was able to block Daniel Carlson’s kick, securing the victory.
As I mentioned, the Bears will have two full weeks to prepare and game plan for a big time rematch with the Commanders. You can bet that Stevenson will be in the national conversation almost the entire time, and I bet he has his head down and is working hard to get ready to redeem himself.
But it’s not just him who needs to get to work. Not only are the remaining Bears players from last year’s Fail Mary looking for redemption, but Ben Johnson, Antwaan Randle El and J.T. Barrett, notably, will be looking for some measure of revenge as well. The former Lions coaches were ousted from the playoffs last year by the Commanders and will surely be out for some redemption as well.