Silver And Black Pride
A weird game ended up being a brutal, brutal defeat for the Las Vegas Raiders.
In the end, the Raiders left Allegiant Stadium stunned after a 25-24 loss to the underwhelming Chicago Bears after a 54-yard field goal attempt by Daniel Carlson was blocked in the final seconds.
The Raiders seemed in control of this game late despite commiting four turnovers in their own territory.
The Raiders’ defense played well until late, keeping the Bears young, but explosive offense quiet until it really counted.
New Raiders’ quarterback Geno Smith was awful again and it ruined a breakout game by rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.
The bottom line is the Raiders have not been good in the first quarter of the season as they have lost three straight games and are 1-3. The Pete Carroll era, so far, was been sloppy and uninspiring.
Oh, and standout left tackle Kolton Miller was carted off on the final drive and Carroll said he has a sprain ankle. Thus, he may miss some time.
Again, a brutal day for the Silver and Black. Here are some key aspects of the game:
Jeanty stance change pays off:
Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty went back to his college stance of standing up after Kelly had him adjust to the normal NFL stance. And guess what he had a huge day. Jeanty had three touchdowns (one rushing, two receiving) and had his first 100-yard rushing game with 138 yards on 21 carries, including a nifty 64-yard touchdown run. The Raiders had 240 rushing yards. Perhaps things are coming around in this area. The Bears, of course, have a bottom five run defense. So, let’s see if the Raiders can continue to trend forward in this area.
Geno picked off three times:
While the ground game was zipping, Smith was intercepted three times (all in Raiders’ territory). He has thrown seven interception in four games and leads the NFL. By contrast, awful Gardner Minshew had five interceptions in the first five games last season. Smith has been intercepted six times in two home games this season. He had four interceptions in the first four games last season for Seattle and was picked off 15 times for the season. It’s been a big problem. To his credit, Smith has acknowledged he hasn’t delivered. “The guy I’m supposed to be hasn’t shown up year,” he said after the game.
Tip drills:
The Raiders’ defensive front played well early and had five tipped passes on the Bears’ first three possessions, capped by Maxx Crosby’s first career interception on his own tipped ball. Crosby tipped three passes for the second time in his career. Crosby had an incredible game. He is so special.
Some good things lost:
The Raiders did some good things. Their run defense was improved after getting gutted at Washington alst week. The Bears struggled to run the ball until late. They also bottled up quarterback Caleb Williams until late in the game. The Raiders offensive line was...
