4th and Goal(s): Bears Looking To Hit It Big In Vegas Against Raiders
A fresh start for Chicago comes as offense is finally given over to Justin Fields
The NFL is often described as a “week to week league,” and so far the Chicago Bears have lived up well to that mantra.
It’s truly remarkable how quickly things change in the league and its charter franchise gave a distinct example of change on the move this week.
Sunday the Bears are in Las Vegas for a battle with Sin City’s Raiders in one of the first games with fans at the still-new Allegiant Stadium. Bears fans know one thing for sure — two things, if you count envy towards stadiums like Allegiant — and its that rookie quarterback Justin Fields is the starter moving forward. Coach Matt Nagy has finally made the announcement the entire fan base has been waiting weeks for, and after a successful first home start against Detroit it seems the Bears have a blueprint for an offensive identity once again.
Now lets take a look at the four goals the team should have this week in order to get to a 3-2 record and above .500 for the first time this season and in Fields’ career as a starter.
New beginnings - Personally, this writer feels like coach Matt Nagy has been reading 4th and Goal(s) over the past few weeks, because it was about time he made the major adjustments Chicago’s offense needed.
Not only did Nagy stick with quarterback Justin Fields but he also handed over play call duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Finally, fans could see a quarterback being used properly in a Bears uniform, complete with lots more emphasis on the run game, which led to effective play-action passing that Fields looks very comfortable with.
It would have been nice to see a little more bootlegs and roll outs against the Lions, but max protects were utilized, which helped actually get the ball downfield. Fields has major stud potential and needs his offense to highlight his strengths. We don’t know how good Lazor is as a play caller because Nagy put the bar so low in front of him, but Lazor needs to continue to be said play caller and not Nagy.
Make them work for it - This Raiders team has been explosive in 2021, featuring a top-10 scoring unit putting up 26 points a game. Through the first few games of the season, this Bears defense has been solid especially up front, but a little too regularly it has broke down in the secondary. The Bears have to make the Raiders earn whatever points they get and not allow speedster Henry Ruggs III beat them over the top.
Another dangerous weapon is tight end Darren Waller, who can really wreck the defense’s day if the Bears do not shut him down as much as possible. On top of everything, the Bears offense is still a wildcard when it comes to scoring points. The defense has to slow down the Raiders and force them to earn every single point they get.
Who’s up? - Unfortunately, the Bears come in beat up in this one, losing star running back David Montgomery and potentially losing quality backup Damien Williams is really a tough pill for the Bears offense to swallow.
The strength of the offense has been the run game with Montgomery and clearly the offensive line is much better with run blocking than pass blocking. Good news is that Williams has been a full participant at practice and should be scheduled to play unless a major setback happens.
Rookie running back Khalil Herbert may get some quality action as well and he has shown some explosiveness. There are some other concerning injuries like defensive tackle Akiem Hicks as well as edge rusher Khalil Mack. Maybe the injuries to the defensive stars can be negated by the overall depth in the front seven on defense, who are still playing pretty well.
Come ready - The Bears’ clearest advantage in this match up is the extra day of preparation — they come in with an extra day of readiness over Las Vegas, who had to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. The Raiders’ effort there may lead to a disadvantage for the Bears as the Raiders have to respond from a bad loss where overall it looked flat.
It would be wise for the Bears to expect a team with a more focused effort in front of them Sunday afternoon but the Raiders and their coach could be offering a lot of help to undermine such plans.
There of course will be noise emanating from the continued “Mack trade to the Bears” story line, there’s also the viral video from London when these teams last met where head coach Jon Gruden took a shot at “Club Dub.” And of course, the motor-mouth coach has also gotten himself in trouble with an unearthed message dissing NFL Players Association boss DeMaurice Smith that propelled the Friday news cycle.
Should be a well fought contest between these two clubs, each hungry for a win, though the Raiders also seem hungry for controversy, which is never surprising.
If the Bears come ready to this fight, with a solid game plan and the right energy level on the field, they can very well cash in big on a weekend visit to Vegas. The house doesn’t always have to win.
Ryan Bukowiecki covers the Chicago Bears and professional football for WARR