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
A reminder of how quickly things can change in the NFL
After Week 3, the Raiders were riding high. They beat Lamar Jackson and the Ravens at home, went on beat the Steelers on the road for the first time in 12 years, and then beat a feisty Miami team in dramatic fashion.
Long-suffering fans of the team knew that it was far too soon to get excited about the playoffs but it was encouraging to have three wins from a tough opening stretch. Even after the loss to Los Angeles, there were still plenty of reasons to be optimistic as the Raiders had an “easy” stretch before the bye week with several teams under or at .500.
There were also plenty of reasons to be worried after the Chargers’ loss and those same reasons showed up against Chicago, but we’re magnified. What was once an explosive offense suddenly could do nothing against a Chicago defense that let Jared Goff march up and down the field against them. The Raiders protection issues were a major cause of the struggles, but this was a team that looked unfocused and out of sync.
Lineman were missing easy blocks, defenders were getting swallowed up in the run game, and receivers were dropping easy passes that killed drives. Perhaps the Jon Gruden email scandal was a bigger distraction than he would have led on but there is simply no excuse for the performance the Raiders put out against Chicago.
Now the Raiders face another team on a two-game losing streak in the Denver Broncos on the road and then face a solid Philadelphia Eagles team at home. What was suddenly a stretch where it looked like the Raiders could dominate, there are now questions about if the Raiders will be under 500 going into the body week.
With this long season, it’s important not to get too high or too low after winning or losing streaks but it shows you how quickly things can go from sunshine to dark clouds in the NFL.