The Chicago Bears defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, 25-24, to improve to 2-2 entering the bye week. It wasn’t a pretty win, but a win nonetheless as new head coach Ben Johnson has already started to change the narrative surrounding this team and its reputation in close games.

The Bears had a complete team win against a Raiders team also desperate for a victory, where the offense, defense, special teams and coaching all proved to the be the difference. As special teams mishaps continue to be a trend in the NFL, Chicago remains on the right side of it. The Bears trailed for most of the game, but they found a way to pull out an ugly, close win to ride a wave of momentum into their week off.

There’s plenty to discuss from this game, where all three phases contributed to get Chicago to .500 entering their bye week. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts on the Bears’ Week 4 win against the Raiders.

Alyssa Barbieri

I’m one of those people who believed the Bears didn’t stand a chance in this game once they were trailing in the fourth quarter. After all, I’d seen this film before (ad nauseam) and I didn’t like the ending. Thankfully, Ben Johnson isn’t Matt Eberflus. And, thankfully, Chicago decided to rewrite the narrative that they can’t win close games. And, thankfully, they actually managed to pull off an ugly win, which is something this team wouldn’t have been able to do last year.

This game required all three phases to contribute, and it’s the definition of a team win. While the offense struggled mightily in the first half as Maxx Crosby made Caleb Williams’ life a living hell, they were able to piece things together in the second half and score their lone two touchdowns of the game. But the most important one was an 11-play, 69-yard game-winning drive that culminated in a D’Andre Swift touchdown. Williams was at his best in this moment, and he continues to show why he’s best in these big moments.

While the defense continues to struggle against the run and generating a pass rush, it was the injury-riddled secondary (down their best cornerbacks in Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon) that stepped up in this game. Safety Kevin Byard was the MVP in this one, notching two interceptions and bringing a physicality to the field that was needed. Even cornerback Tyrique Stevenson continued to rise to the challenge and recorded a pick. Both Byard and Stevenson have takeaways in consecutive games. In all, the Bears totaled four takeaways (after a four-takeaway performance in last week’s win), and it’s no coincidence that they’re winning games when winning the turnover battle.

But it was the special teams that might’ve been the biggest contributor. For a while, Cairo Santos was the Bears offense, as he connected on all four field goal attempts, including two from beyond 50 yards. If not for Santos, Chicago isn’t in this game. Then it was Josh Blackwell stepping up in the biggest moment of the game and unlocking a 54-yard field goal attempt by Daniel Carlson, which sealed the victory.

Following the game, Ben Johnson told his team how badly both teams wanted this win — but the Bears wanted it a little bit more. Now, Chicago sits at 2-2 heading into the bye week, where they have a chance to rest, get healthy and return for a pivotal Monday Night Football rematch against the Washington Commanders in Week 6.

Brendan Sugrue

We all know the Vegas tropes about the debauchery and trouble people can get into while going from casino to casino. At the end of a long weekend filled with ups and downs, you’re exhausted and just ready to go home. And despite losing most of your money, you have one last big win before you leave “Sin City,” and you count yourself lucky to be escaping with a small profit. That’s basically what the Chicago Bears did in football terms.

I was steadfast in my belief that this was going to be an ugly game and that the Bears just needed to find any sort of way to win. They were beaten up and limping towards the bye week. They did just that thanks to a few key turnovers off of Geno Smith, a timely game-winning touchdown drive, and a block from one of the best special teamers on the squad.

Caleb Williams got better as the game went on and saved his best for last in the fourth quarter, another sign of growth from the quarterback. There is true belief that the Bears are in good hands with him running the offense, and the coaching staff seems to know the right buttons to push late in the game. If this were the last regime, we’d be talking about another collapse at the end of the game.

This wasn’t a perfect win, and that’s okay. The important thing is the Bears got the job done and can now focus on getting healthy and making necessary adjustments, like improving the run game on both offense and defense. The biggest key, however, is to not lose this momentum. Most of the league will play two more games before the Bears take the field again, and a slow start could be a concern. They must be prepared for what Washington is going to throw at them on Monday Night Football. But we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s enjoy a Victory Monday.

Mike Pendleton

The Chicago Bears will enter their bye week with a .500 record after looking like the same old Bears after the first two weeks of the season. It’s easy to flip the narrative and say that the wins came against the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. 

Looking at the game front-to-back, the main positive is that the Bears never folded and they didn’t quit on themselves. Too often, the Bears would be in a close-game situation and there was little to no optimism that they could pull off the victory, but on Sunday, they flipped the script. 

I have concern that the Bears are getting their bye week at an unfortunate spot, as they’re going to get a pause in their momentum. The reality is that the Bears are still 0-2 in the NFC North, but there is going to be significant importance on each and every game moving forward, no matter what. Chicago has no room to spare for disappointing losses to teams they should beat, and they were able to avoid those in the last two weeks. The biggest game of the year will be in Week 6, when Chicago has a chance at revenge against the Washington Commanders who began their downfall last season.

Vinnie Parise

The Chicago Bears took down the Las Vegas Raiders. They don’t as how, they just ask how many. It was not the prettiest of wins the team has ever had, but they are 2-2 going into the bye. 

When Caleb Williams needed to drive Ben Johnson’s offense down the field in crunch time, he did it. When they needed a big running play to get in the end zone, they did it. When they needed the big field goal block, they did it. No matter what, they hung around and executed. As a popular radio host in town says, you wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and find a way to win a football game. 

This is the type of game that the Chicago Bears would have lost in 2024, especially if it were on the road. Things are different now in terms of leadership on the sidelines. That’s two wins in a row for the Bears. They are not out of the woods yet, though. They have a long way to go before they are a playoff caliber team, but this new little winning streak is a nice start. 

Last year, things fell off the rails when they paid a visit to the nation’s capital to play the Washington Commanders. Now, they have two weeks to prepare to return to the scene of the crime to make it right. There is plenty of film from the last two games, both positive and negative, to learn from while they are away.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: The Morning After…the Bears’ close win vs. Raiders in Week 4

Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Brendan Sugrue, Mike Pendleton and Vincent Parise, Bears Wire / Bears Wire

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