Las Vegas Raiders vs Chicago Bears: 3 things we learned in Week 5

Las Vegas Raiders vs Chicago Bears: 3 things we learned in Week 5

Jon Gruden still can’t get his decision-making right

We have talked ad nauseam about Jon Gruden’s decision-making skills in a fourth down and short yardage situations and that problem came up yet again against Chicago. The Raiders were trailing 7-3 in the first half and marched their way into Chicago territory just outside the red zone.

Gruden called a zone read to Carr on third and short and then a handoff up the middle to Josh Jacobs, both were unsuccessful, and the Raiders turned the ball over on downs. Had Gruden thrown Daniel Carlson out there for a short field goal, the Raiders could’ve been down by one point which would have made an enormous difference in a game where the Raiders held the Chicago offense in check all day long.

The second poor decision Gruden wade was to go for two when the Raiders scored the first touchdown of the night to bring Chicago within five points. Gruden chose to go for two and failed when he could have kicked an extra point and made it a four-point game. This would have put Chicago up by four and a field goal, which they eventually kicked, would have made it just a seven-point game.

We used to complain about Jon Gruden being too conservative but now he is being unnecessarily aggressive when the situation does not call for it. He is compounding that unnecessary aggression with unimaginative play-calling and the Raiders’ struggles in short yardage continued once again.

He has a defense that can make stops and needs to stop putting them in a hole every game with bad decisions.