In a battle of backup quarterbacks, the Bears’ youth outperformed the Raiders’ experience, as QB Tyson Bagent led Chicago to their first home win in a calendar year in a 30-12 victory vs. Las Vegas.
While Bagent, an undrafted rookie QB who played Division II football last year, made playing in the NFL look easy, the Raiders offense, led by veteran backup QB Brian Hoyer, never found its footing.
The Raiders defense looked just as lost, failing to make Bagent the least bit flustered while allowing 173 rushing yards. Here are the winners and losers for the week as Las Vegas limps home with a 3-4 record.
Winner: DE Tyree Wilson
It’s slim pickings for the winner list this week. But rookie defensive end Tyree Wilson notched the first QB sack of his career on a desperation play for the Bears as the first half came to and end.
Wilson also had a near sack on the Bears’ first drive in the third quarter. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, that drive took 8:16 off the clock and ended in a touchdown and a 21-3 Chicago advantage.
Winner: WR Jakobi Meyers
After wide receiver Davante Adams started hot on the Raiders first drive, WR Jakobi Meyers had the most productive receiving day for Las Vegas. He and Adams both ended up with seven catches, but Meyers notched a touchdown from QB Aidan O’Connell in garbage time. It was the Raiders’ only touchdown on the afternoon.
Loser: K Daniel Carlson
The lopsided score in this game was by no means the fault of the Raiders’ field goal unit, but kicker Daniel Carlson didn’t help matters early on. After the Bears went 3-and-out to start the game, Las Vegas drove down the field for a field goal try, which Carlson missed.
He had made 19 in a row inside 50 yards, but Carlson’s kick sailed left. The solid field position helped the Bears jump to a 7-0 lead on a touchdown run from running back D’Onta Foreman. Forman ran for 89 yards on 5.6 yards per attempt and notched two rushing touchdowns. He also added a receiving touchdown in a field day for the Bears offense.
Loser: Defense/DC Patrick Graham
The Raiders defense carried Las Vegas in its previous two wins but was badly outclassed by an undrafted rookie QB. Their porous run defense made everything easy for Bagent, and missed tackles were a theme all afternoon for the Raiders.
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham continually hit the wrong buttons on his play-call sheet and his defense looked toothless, consistently off-balance from misdirection plays and chunk-yardage runs from Chicago.
Loser: QB Brian Hoyer
Hoyer got the start over the Raiders’ own rookie, O’Connell, and he had a chance to win his first NFL start in seven years. He failed miserably, posting a QB rating of 37.1. He added a pick-6 interception for good measure, as the Raiders tried to put points on the board facing a 24-6 deficit with roughly five minutes remaining in the game.
Loser: RB Josh Jacobs
Not only did RB Josh Jacbos have another poor day running the ball, he dropped a pass from Hoyer, tipping it into the air for a Bears interception. The Raiders were only trailing 7-0 at the time, and the turnover led to another touchdown and a 14-0 lead for Chicago.
Loser: Offensive line
The Raiders offensive line continues to be an issue for Las Vegas. Jacobs had just 35 yards on 11 carries and the Raiders had just 39 rushing yards overall.
Their pass protection was decent to good, but when the Raiders can’t run the ball, coach Josh McDaniels’ offense is playing without a full deck. Seven weeks into the season, it appears they’re simply a terrible run-blocking unit that is an obstacle to the Raiders’ success.
Loser: WR Davante Adams
Adams made headlines this week for demanding the football. McDaniels clearly heard him, and on the Raiders first drive, Adams had three receptions on four targets before Carlson’s missed field goal.
The Raiders never went back to Adams consistently, and he had just 57 yards on his seven catches. He found a groove on a long Raiders drive in the second half as Las Vegas trailed 21-3, hauling in a first down catch in the red zone on 4th-and-4.
But Adams dropped a relatively easy touchdown on a third-down pass from Hoyer.
oh my god Davante Adams pic.twitter.com/mrbD7XHf6Y
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 22, 2023
The drop led McDaniels to call for the field goal unit, even after he had gone for it on fourth down just a few plays prior.
Also, Adams was disgruntled during two Raiders wins. How will he feel after having a bad game in a Raiders loss? It’s anyone’s guess, but Adams may simply have to make the best of a difficult situation; it appears the Raiders will likely struggle to take advantage of his superstar skills due to a suspect roster overall, especially on the offensive line and at quarterback.
Loser: HC Josh McDaniels
The Raiders entered this game as the winners of two straight and faced a rookie backup QB in his first start. While that sounds like a recipe for success, the Raiders were severely outclassed by a very suspect Bears squad.
That falls on coach Josh McDaniels — from a coaching standpoint and also a roster-building standpoint, as he and his longtime buddy, general manager Dave Ziegler, have rebuilt the Raiders to what we see today.
In particular, McDaniels’ decision to kick a short field goal in the fourth quarter after Adam’s drop was a head-scratcher. Las Vegas had already converted a fourth down play on the drive to Adams, so why stop there?
It would have been a two-possession game either way, but McDaniels’ bunch needed a touchdown eventually, and that was their best shot while the game was still in reach.
Plus, his offense has still yet to score 20 points in a game. The Raiders are lucky to have a 3-4 record and have a chance to right the ship next week against the Lions on Monday night, ideally with starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo back in place. But right now, a winning season looks improbable unless the Raiders post a dramatic turnaround.
