Oakland Raiders Week 4 Primer: Bad News Bears

Sep 27, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Andre Holmes (18) celebrates his second quarter touchdown against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

News flash! The Raiders won a game on the road in the eastern time zone last week! News flash! The Raiders are favored on the road for the first time in…forever! It has been a long time since the Raiders have given Raider Nation a reason to be proud in September and October, but in Week 4 of the 2015 season, Raider Nation can puff their chest out with pride.

After an ugly Week 1, there were Raider fans that were ready to face another dreadful season, but 2015 is different. Is it the veteran head coach? The creative offense? The flexible defensive coordinator? The second year quarterback? Or the unreal rookie receiver? It is all of the above.

This Raiders team has shown that they can beat teams in the AFC over the last two weeks by outplaying them and making the timely plays needed to finish off wins, something that should be very exciting for fans who now have their hopes set on Oakland beating a weakened Chicago Bears team to move to 3-1 going into a big time Week 5 rivalry game against the division-leading Denver Broncos.

So what has the Raiders on the verge of their best start in the Reggie McKenzie era? Following is my weekly breakdown of last week and my primer of the upcoming game. With the usual picks against the spread thrown in for good measure.

Next: Week 4 Primer: Week 3 Breakdown