Final Score: Bears 25 Raiders 24
The Bears won in dramatic fashion this week, stunning the Raiders with a game-winning blocked field goal in the final minute. Josh Blackwell’s insane layout prevented Raiders kicker Dylan Carlson from sending the Bears into the bye week with a 1-3 record. Stellar performances out of Tyrique Stevenson and Kevin Byard were enough to render Maxx Crosby and Ashton Jeanty’s actions moot.
This was a gritty road win for Ben Johnson’s squad, in a type of game that Chicago has typically been on the other side of in the past. It was refreshing to see a last-minute heartbreaking moment finally lean in the Bears’ favor. The fact that despite the injuries that the team is dealing with, it was able to march into Las Vegas and escape with a huge win is a testament to the new energy surrounding the squad. Described by Johnson himself as “a huge character win“, this game was vital for collecting momentum heading into the bye week.
Now, the vision is that Johnson will be able to re-assess his gameplan and take some extra time to regroup with the benefit of knowing what worked and what didn’t work in weeks 1-4, all the while the team (hopefully) gets a little healthier. (Tentatively) good vibes in Chicago!
Bright Spots
Injury-Riddled Secondary Shined
The secondary showed out this week. Though he was listed as questionable heading into the matchup, nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon did not end up suiting up. Still awaiting Gordon’s season debut, and without the talents of star CB Jaylon Johnson, the healthy DBs have been picking up the slack. Veteran safety Kevin Byard snagged two interceptions, while CB Tyrique Stevenson continued his hot streak. The duo insanely managed to finish 1st and 2nd in the NFL this week, respectively, in PFF coverage grade. Stevenson stacked on top of his phenomenal performance last week with a wild diving interception, a fumble recovery, and two pass breakups. The secondary allowed only 117 passing yards, and no receiving touchdowns from wide receivers.
Rookie Tackles Held Their Own
Another positive to take from the win in Las Vegas was the job done by the young and inexperienced offensive tackles. With RT Darnell Wright not healthy enough to suit up, 23-year-old rookie Theo Benedet (whom you may remember as the “Canadian Eagle” from last year’s Hard Knocks) was chosen as his replacement. Then, after LT Braxton Jones was dominated by Vegas’ Maxx Crosby, 2025 second-round draft pick Ozzy Trapilo (also aged 23) was thrusted into action in the middle of the second quarter. While their PFF grades leave much to be desired, you can’t argue with results: after the change of personnel, Crosby quieted down. Caleb Williams still dealt with pressure throughout the second half, but he was only sacked once in the whole game. In many scenarios where you play two severely inexperienced offensive linemen, their ineptitude is too much to overcome. This was not the case this week.
Glaring Issues
Still Can’t Run the Ball
This team does have some prevalent issues, two of which revolve around the run game. It can not run the ball efficiently, nor slow down opposing rushing attacks. This was perfectly demonstrated this week in a game where the Bears were out-rushed 240 yards-69 yards. Although D’Andre Swift was able to muster up some crucial yards when he needed to in the second half on various 3rd-downs and goal-to-go situations, the option to run was not there for Ben Johnson throughout the game. Kudos to him for sticking with it (26 rush attempts on the day), but the Bears averaged only 2.7 yards per carry, compared to the Raiders’ 7.7. Chicago now grades out 27th in PFF run defense grade on the season.
Pass Rushers Reverted to Recent Struggles
In addition to struggling to contain Ashton Jeanty and the Raiders run game, the defensive line had another poor performance rushing the passer. It was held to zero sacks on the stationary Geno Smith, while only mustering up 6 pressures. After a 25-pressure performance against the Cowboys last week, I was hoping the unit could carry its success through the bye week. It did not, and will look to find some answers during its break.
Standout Performers
Kevin Byard
Byard was tired of hearing NFL fans around the league calling him washed. The 10-year veteran stacked up two picks in the first half, keeping the Bears in the game while the offense was struggling. He also added in a tackle for loss in the run game. Byard ranked 1st in the NFL in PFF coverage grade this week, and 2nd in overall defensive PFF grade.
Tyrique Stevenson
Though Jaylon Johnson commonly grades out in this area, I’ve never seen two Bears players rank so highly in PFF grade in the same week. Stevenson has been amazing this season. This week, his impressive diving pick and other efforts on defense were good enough to place him 2nd in the NFL in PFF coverage grade (only behind Kevin Byard), and 5th in PFF defensive grade. To add the cherry on top, Rique also finished 1st in PFF run defense grade in Week 4. This was an absolutely insane week out of the emerging star.
Ashton Jeanty
The phenom rookie running back had his breakout game this week. After struggling to find his footing in weeks 1-3, he exploded for a whopping 3 touchdowns and 138 rushing yards against the weak Chicago run defense. The league has officially been put on notice.
Maxx Crosby
Pass rusher Maxx Crosby seemed like he was single-handedly going to defeat the Bears in the first quarter. He racked up 3 tackles for loss, 3 passes deflected (which is insane out of a defensive lineman), and his first career interception. He absolutely dominated the first half of this game and ranked 9th in the NFL in overall defensive PFF grade.
Key Drive of the Game
The most important drive of the game had to be Chicago’s game-winning touchdown drive. In what turned into a back-and-forth affair, Caleb Williams and the Bears offense were handed the ball with 6:45 remaining in regulation, trailing 19-24. In need of a touchdown, Williams delivered just that. In an 11-play drive that left Las Vegas with only 1:34 to respond, the offense overcame a false start penalty and marched all the way down the field. The possession featured two Caleb Williams scrambles for 18 yards, a 17-yard Rome Odunze reception, and was capped off by a D’Andre Swift rushing touchdown to take the lead. Williams continues to be clutch.