Oakland Raiders Week 5 Primer: Donkey Stampede

Oct 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould (9) celebrates with punter Spencer Lanning (4) ater kicking the winning field goal against the Oakland Raiders in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Unlucky Break

It is true one can spend quite a bit of time beating up the offense for losing this game, the Raiders did have one very unlucky break. The NFL has been going after offenses for blocking too early on screen plays very hard this season, to the point where offensive pass interference is occurring at an unusual rate.

On the first touchdown the Raiders gave up, the Bears had a screen of sorts designed. They lined up in a bunch formation with a tight end in front of two receivers. The tight end and the outside receiver went to the goal line and engaged in deliberate blocks while the remaining receiver ran into the flat. The Raider defenders had no chance and the Bears scored, of course on an illegal downfield screen which was not called.

At the end of the day, this is a game the Raiders should have won if they executed better on the offensive side of the football. Settling for field goals left a window of opportunity for the Bears and they took advantage. The loss could be a big deal come the end of the season, but the Raiders have 12 games to make sure that dropping a game to the Bears in Chicago isn’t the turning point of 2015. Starting with trying to upset the Broncos at the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

Next: Week 5 Primer: Testing Peyton