The Chicago Bears will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4, where Chicago is looking to stack back-to-back wins ahead of the bye week.
The Bears are coming off an impressive 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys, where the offensive thrived under quarterback Caleb Williams (who tied a career high with four touchdown passes and had a career-high 142.6 passer rating) and the defense managed to hold this high-powered Dallas offense to just 14 points (including zero in the second half).
Now, the Bears will face a Raiders team coming off a 41-24 loss to the Marcus Mariota-led Washington Commanders. Can Chicago make it two wins in a row heading into the bye week? Our Bears Wire staff make their game predictions for Bears-Raiders in Week 4:
Alyssa Barbieri (2-1): Bears 31, Raiders 20
The Bears have a great opportunity to not only build off last week’s impressive outing but replicate it against the Raiders, who were blown out by the Marcus Mariota-led Washington Commanders last week. Chicago’s offense is hitting its stride in the passing game (led by quarterback Caleb Williams, who’s coming off a career game and NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors), and they now have an opportunity to build on the run game after Las Vegas allowed 201 yards to the Commanders.
While the Bears defense will most likely be without starters Kyler Gordon and T.J. Edwards yet again, this defense has the opportunity for success if they can win the battle in the trenches. The Raiders’ offensive line was putrid in last week’s loss, where running back Ashton Jeanty was hit in the backfield repeatedly and Geno Smith sacked five times. If Chicago can capitalize on the offensive line’s struggles, it could help limit the big-play ability in the passing game with weapons Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker and Brock Bowers.
If you would’ve told me before the season that the Bears have an opportunity to be .500 heading into the bye week, I would be pleased. While the Raiders are a step above the Cowboys (barely), I think Chicago has an opportunity to replicate their performance against Dallas and ride a two-game winning streak into the bye.
Brendan Sugrue (1-2): Bears 20, Raiders 14
It’s Week 4, and in the old days, back when the schedule was 16 games long, Lovie Smith would say it’s the end of the first quarter of the season. That means we can start seeing some trends in the league, and when it comes to the Chicago Bears, they appear to be a team that rides the momentum. They fell apart in Week 1 and allowed that to carry over to Week 2 when they started 0-2. But thanks to a timely turnover last weekend against the Dallas Cowboys, they opened the floodgates to get their first victory of the Ben Johnson era. How will they respond after tasting success? By harnessing it going into this weekend.
While the Las Vegas Raiders aren’t one of the upper echelon teams, they’re an upgrade over the Cowboys. Geno Smith can still pick apart a defense when he’s protected, and Las Vegas has blue-chip players on both sides of the ball who can take over a game. The Bears will need to take advantage of the uneven Raiders offensive line to get pressure on Smith to force him into making poor decisions. He’s second in the league in passing yards, but he’s also tied for second in interceptions. If Chicago can make him uncomfortable while also not allowing Ashton Jeanty to break out on the ground, the offense should be able to do enough to get the win.
The key factor there is keeping Caleb Williams off the ground. We all saw what he can do when defenders can’t get near him, and putting the clamps on Maxx Crosby will be top priority to make that happen. They’ll need to do so with either a banged-up Darnell Wright or a backup right tackle. But seeing the offense gel last week gives me hope that it will carry over to Sunday with unique concepts that Las Vegas won’t be able to keep up with. The Raiders always seem to host ugly games, so this one won’t be pretty either. But the Bears get the close victory to go into the bye week at 2-2.
Mike Pendleton (1-2): Bears 35, Raiders 17
I have zero faith in the Las Vegas Raiders who just lost to the Washington Commanders and backup Marcus Mariota. Meanwhile, the Bears offense is building momentum and the offensive line didn’t give up a sack for the first time in the young career of Caleb Williams.
The offensive line will have a much bigger challenge and task to control this Sunday as they face off against Maxx Crosby. If the unit can continue their strong play and keep another clean pocket for Williams this weekend, it’s hard to imagine that the offense would take a step back. This could be an opportunity for the Bears running game to get kick started as well, as Vegas just allowed over 200 rushing yards to Washington in their loss last weekend.
Vegas has struggled to get their offense going under new head coach Pete Carroll and veteran quarterback Geno Smith. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, who had the spotlight coming into the season, has failed to do much of anything through the first three games of his career.
If there’s any chance of T.J. Edwards or Kyler Gordon returning for this game, the defensive unit will get a major boost on the field, and should be even stronger against a struggling Raiders offense. Look for the Bears to continue with their momentum and go into their bye week at .500 with another impressive performance this weekend.
Vinnie Parise (2-1): Bears 30 – Raiders 24
The Chicago Bears dismantled the Dallas Cowboys last weekend. That victory put their season back on track as they are no longer in danger of heading into the bye week winless. This game against the Las Vegas Raiders, however, is very important as going 2-2 is much more appealing than 1-3.
Caleb Williams and the offense has taken baby steps each week. How will they go up against the Raiders, who do have Maxx Crosby? The offensive line has another big test in that regard. After having his first career NFL game without being sacked, can Williams to his part to stay clean for a second week in a row?
The Bears defense did well against the heavy weapon filled Cowboys offense, can they repeat it against a unit led by Geno Smith, Brock Bowers, and Ashton Jeanty amongst others? Even if they don’t keep them to under 20, they can still win the game if their offense continues to connect well. The Bears should take this one on the road in front of a more than usual pro-Chicago road crowd.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Will Bears beat the Raiders? Our experts make score predictions
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Brendan Sugrue, Mike Pendleton and Vincent Parise, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
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