Team Grades: Raiders Fall In 'Trap Game' As Bears Upset Oakland
By Abraham Gutierrez
Going in as three-point favorites on the road, one of the biggest concerns for Oakland Raiders fans was the possibility that this team could overlook the winless Chicago Bears, and that's exactly what they did. In a typical "trap game," the Silver and Black went into the Windy City and simply failed to make the plays when it mattered most.
The end result was a heart-breaking 20-22 loss that could come back to haunt this team, as they prepare for back-to-back intra-divisional showdowns with a bye week in between. Statistically, Oakland was outplayed by the Bears seemingly in every facet of the game, as they drop to 2-2 on the year, which is good enough for a second-place tie with the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West.
"Hard fought, back-and-fourth game. Give them credit, they made the play at the end to win," said Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio during his post-game press conference. "It comes down to making plays in the end. In the National Football League, these types of games, the team that makes the play at the end wins. Tough, determined effort, just came up a little short. I take ownership of what happened. I look to make the corrections and move on and get ready for the second quarter of our season."
Offense: C
The Raiders offense was limited to 16 first downs and 243 yards of total offense, out of which, 70 came through the ground game and only 173 through the air. Oakland also lost the time of possession battle, holding the ball for only 26 minutes and 36 seconds of gametime. They performed decently on third down, converting on 6-of-13 of its opportunities, but committed two turnovers.
After two outstanding performances, sophomore sensation Derek Carr was grounded a bit, connecting on 20-of-33 pass attempts for 196 yards, 2 touchdowns and pick, for a quarterback rating of 84.9. He was also sacked twice for a loss of 23 yards, and a costly lost fumble in crunch time.
"This was just one of those old fashion NFL fights, down to the wire" Carr said after the game. "There was no lack of focus or lack of effort, nothing that would alarm you, or anything like that. It came down to, at the end, and they made great plays."
Oakland's running game also struggled to get going, as running back Latavius Murray failed to match last week's heroic effort. After rushing for 139 yards against Cleveland, the third-year man out of Central Florida tallied just 49 yards on 16 carries, had a bevy of easy drops on the receiving end, and fumbled the rock once.
Top wide receivers for the Raiders on the day include Michael Crabtree (5 grabs, 80 yards) and Amari Cooper (4 receptions for 49 yards, TD), as well as backup running back Roy Helu Jr. (2 receptions, 13 yards, TD) who also got in on the action.
Defense: C-
Defensively, the Raiders struggled to keep things in front of them. Ken Norton's "D" surrendered 23 first downs, 371 total yards, allowed the Bears to control the football for 33 minutes and 24 seconds, and were ineffective on third down, allowing Chicago to convert on 10-of-17 attempts.
Coming in as no surprise, one of the main reasons for Chicago's success was the play of versatile running back, Matt Forte. Filling up the stat sheet – like he usually does – the eighth-year man out of Tulane was a thorn on Oakland's side, rushing for 91 yards on 25 carries, to go along with his 64 yards on 4 receptions.
Coming off a hamstring injury, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was also instrumental on the win, outplaying Carr to the tune of 28-for-43 completions for 281 yards, a pair of touchdowns and a pick for a quarterback rating of 89.4.
"Our football team was well aware of the strengths and the capabilities of this football team we played today," Del Rio added. "That was not anything that was a part of our preparation. We had good preparation, we came out and played very hard, very gritty, and just didn't make enough plays at the end.
"They played well, we didn't play as well as we're capable of. These things happen. They get paid too."
Special Teams: A+
The Raiders special teams unit never takes a play off, and thus, is one of the most reliable groups in all of football. Against the Bears on Sunday that served true, as kicker Sebastian Janikowski continued his perfect start. The Oakland Raiders franchise scoring leader connected on a pair of field goals and extra-points, improving his unblemished record to 7-for-7 on the young season.
With field position being a crucial part of this game, Del Rio has to be satisfied with the efforts of punter, Marquette King. The 26-year-old, Fort Valley State product averaged 48.4 yards on 5 punts, including a long of 54 yards, and 2 well-placed boots inside the Bears' 20-yard-line.
Coaching: D+
In spite of how much Del Rio stressed the notion that his team wouldn't overlook the winless Bears, today's game/statistics indicate otherwise. Oakland went into Soldier Field a little too comfortable, riding a two-game win streak and paid the price, in what one clearly predicted was a "trap game."
Thus, the blame has to be placed on Del Rio and his coaching staff for failing to do their job, as Oakland was unprepared to contain Forte, and failed to test Cutler's hamstring by applying more pressure by collapsing the pocket. The good news is that despite the loss, there are a lot of positives to take away from this game, including the fact that this team will only get better by suffering defeats such as this one, and the one in the opener against the Bengals.
Next up for the Oakland Raiders is a trip back home, as they return to the East Bay to host Peyton Manning and the undefeate, AFC West-leading (4-0) Denver Broncos in Week 5. This intra-divisional clash is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 4:25 p.m. ET from the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California, better known as the Black Hole.
Abe Gutierrez's (Twitter: @GutierrezAbe) passion led him to ditch law school journey in order to launch his own publishing company. His expertise make him a valued addition to Examiner.com, AXS.com and the CBS-Sports family. Some of his work can be found on CBS-Miami (Dolphins), CBS-LosAngeles (Chargers), CBS-BayArea (Raiders), CBS-NewYork (NY Jets), CBS-TampaBay (Buccaneers), AXS.com, aExaminer.com and other online publications.
