Chicago Bears fans are riding high after an elite performance from Caleb Williams and a victory over the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. This week, the Bears turn their attention to the Las Vegas Raiders as they
look to even up their record at .500 after an 0-2 start.
To help get you set for the Bears’ week 4 matchup, we sat down with Matt Holder from Siler and Black Pride, SB Nation’s Las Vegas Raiders website, to help get the perspective of the opponent before this one kicks off. Here’s our Q&A with Matt.
1. What are the fans’ thoughts on the early returns from the new Pete Carroll regime? Two straight losses, but also two difficult games, are fans optimistic?
I think optimism would be higher had they not gotten blown out by the Washington Commanders with a backup quarterback. Had it been a tight game and Jayden Daniels was behind center, 1-2 with both losses coming against reigning playoff teams wouldn’t feel so bad. But the Raiders weren’t even competitive last week, which makes it feel like they’re a long way away from being a playoff contender and has soured the fanbase on Carroll a bit.
It also doesn’t help his cause that the offensive line has been terrible, and his son, Brennan, is the offensive line coach. That has been a hot topic of discussion this week, as many are already calling for Brennan to be fired and feel that Pete made a nepotism hire.
2. How concerned are you about Geno Smith at this point? He has not looked good in the last two games. I know the box score looked good in week three, but that largely seemed to be in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach.
A: I can agree that Smith hasn’t been “good” in the last two weeks, and I will be the first one to admit he was terrible against the Chargers. However, I’d say he was fine last week and was far from the Raiders’ biggest problem. So, I’ll acknowledge that Geno needs to play better moving forward, but I’m not that concerned about him right now. He was sharp in Week 1 and is still getting comfortable working with a new set of teammates and in a new system.
3. How has Ashton Jeanty looked? Many Bears fans were hoping the Bears would land Jeanty in the draft, but obviously, he didn’t make it that far. The stats haven’t looked good, but it also looks like there might be some issues out of his control.
A: Jeanty can do a better job of being patient in the backfield to let the holes develop, but the primary reason for his underwhelming production is that the offensive line has been terrible. Fantasy Life’s Ian Hartitz posted a stat on X/Twitter that was pretty eye-opening: 101 percent of Jeanty’s rushing yards have come after contact this season. He has 144 rushing yards on the season and 146 rushing yards after contact.
Las Vegas’ line is really struggling in the run game right now, especially on the interior. During the second half of last season, the Raiders seemed to figure out the lineup in the trenches, where Jordan Meredith was at left guard, Jackson Powers-Johnson was at center, and Dylan Parham was the right guard. But, for some reason, the new coaching staff decided to flip that around completely, putting Parham on the left side, Meredith at the pivot, and Powers-Johnson on the right. Free-agent addition Alex Cappa has lined up at right guard the last two weeks, and Cappa has been terrible, too.
The frustrating part, and this circles back to your first question, is that Carroll said this week that they won’t be going back to last year’s lineup. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get the coaching staff to admit their mistake, but their rookie running back is suffering the consequences of it right now.
All of that being said, there were a few plays last week where the line held up and Jeanty managed to find some cutback lanes to rip off a few long runs. So, he did have a handful of encouraging carries last week, but it certainly has been one of the most frustrating aspects of the campaign so far.
4. How has the Raiders’ defense been so far? If Caleb Williams has another successful game, what weakness in the Raiders’ defense does that mean the Bears took advantage of?
A: Las Vegas’ defense was much better than most people (myself included) expected during the first two weeks. Last Sunday was a different story, though. The unit looked like they weren’t ready to play and just fell apart in Washington.
What gives me some concern against Williams and the Bears is that the Raiders really struggled to stop the quarterback running game against Marcus Mariota. I know that hasn’t been a huge part of Chicago’s playbook so far, but I’d imagine Ben Johnson watched last week’s tape and will at least try a few read options to see if Las Vegas made any adjustments.
The Raiders also have a lot of question marks in the secondary, especially at cornerback. Their “CB1” is Eric Stokes, who Bears fans should know well from his days with the Green Bay Packers. That being said, I wouldn’t classify Stokes as “good” and don’t think he’d even be a starter for many other teams. At the other corner spot, Kyu Blu Kelly was solid in the first two games of the season, but struggled against Terry McLaurin and got benched for rookie third-round pick Darien Porter. So, it will be interesting to see if that change was just to get through the game or is something that sticks.
5. How do you think this one plays out on Sunday?
It’s tough because while both teams are 1-2, they’ve gotten there in completely opposite directions, where the Bears have the momentum after a dominant win against the Cowboys last week. But I’ll be a homer and say Carroll gets the guys ready to go and bounces back from an embarrassing loss on the road to get the home win. Raiders, 24-21.
