Las Vegas Raiders vs. Chicago Bears: Is a convincing win part of NFL Week 5 prediction?
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is angry after Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa claimed that Carr was “shook” and “curling into a ball.”
A terse confirmation from Carr that Bosa did “piss me off” should bode well for the Raiders with a game coming up Sunday against the Chicago Bears at Allegiant Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. PDT in the NFL Week 5 matchup.
An upset Carr is a good thing for the Raiders because it fuels him even more. Not that he needs any more motivation in his bid for a bounceback performance.
The Raiders are coming off a 28-14 loss to the Chargers on Monday night to fall to 3-1 in the 2021 NFL season.
Las Vegas trailed 21-0 at halftime before scoring 14 unanswered points to get within seven in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders were in position to possibly tie the score, but a drive stalled, Daniel Carlson missed a 51-yard field goal and the Chargers put the game away for good on a touchdown with 5:27 remaining.
Carr threw for a season-low 196 yards, but still leads the NFL with 1,399 yards passing.
This week, the Raiders have been tinkering with the offensive line. Alex Leatherwood was the starting right tackle, but has been moved him to guard. Brandon Parker has worked as a right tackle this week.
The Raiders will need to protect Carr better, buying him more time to find his receivers. So far, he’s been playing well despite the inconsistencies on a line that is without left tackle Kolton Miller, who has a Pro Football Focus season grade of 72.1, with a pass blocking grade 85.9.
Las Vegas’ offense ranks fifth in 406.5 yards per game while Chicago is last at 237.0.
The Raiders defense will need to keep the Bears down.
Las Vegas has 93 total pressures, led by Maxx Crosby’s 30 and followed by Yannick Ngakoue (18) and Solomon Thomas (10).
One down note for the defense: The Raiders likely will be without cornerback Trayvon Mullen Jr. who suffered a toe injury Monday.
Las Vegas will see a familiar face in star pass rusher Khalil Mack, the former Raiders first-round pick who was traded to Chicago in 2018.
The Raiders faced Mack and the Bears in London two seasons ago. The Raiders won that game 24-21.
Chicago will start rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who led the Bears to a 24-14 over the Detroit Lions.
The matchup and the pick
Kickoff: 1:05 p.m. PDT Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
Fresno TV/radio: KGPE (Ch. 47.1)/ ESPN (AM 790)
Records: Raiders 3-1; Bears 2-2
Line: Raiders favored by 5.5
Anthony Galaviz’s prediction: Raiders 33, Bears 13
Analysis: How will the Raiders respond after a loss? We think they’ll respond with a quick start, rather than getting off slowly as they have previously this season. That extra motivation, we said earlier, will bode well for the team. ... As always, creating turnovers figures to be key for Las Vegas to pull off its fourth win. .... These are the type of games the Raiders need to win to make believers out of everyone. We believe the Raiders get back on track with a blowout.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 10:00 AM.
