Getty LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Chase Daniel of Chicago Bears reacts during the game between Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Billed as the Khalil Mack revenge game, the story turned out to be Jon Gruden out-coaching Matt Nagy. The Chicago Bears could not survive a first half disaster of a performance and fell to 3-2 after getting beaten by the Oakland Raiders, 24-21.
Mark Schlereth, who was announcing the game, noted how much energy the Raiders were playing with as a team compared to the Bears, which was evident the entire first half. The Bears came out and played with much more energy in the second half, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter and taking the lead. Here are the winners and losers from the game:
LOSER: Bears Defense
GettyChicago Bears Defensive End Akiem Hicks left the game against the Raiders with a left elbow injury. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The biggest blow the Bears defense received in London wasn’t a blow to their respective egos. It was when Akiem Hicks went down with an apparent left elbow injury. The injury looked to be sustained on a blow taken from Khalil Mack’s helmet.
SiriusXM’s sports medical analyst, David J. Chao, said Hicks’ injury looked like a dislocated left elbow.
The Bears defense looked worse than they have all year against the Raiders. They had an abysmal first half that saw both Matt Nagy and defensive coordinator out-coached.
Defense not playing good so far.
The Bears defense stepped up in the second half, forcing multiple turnovers, including a key one early in the fourth quarter by veteran Sherrick McManis when the Raiders were driving, but they let rookie Josh Jacobs run all over them the entire game, and their tackling throughout was abysmal.
.@peanuttillman we know you’re in da building! This one’s for you!
So @peanuttillman is sitting near the press box. He just said he saw Sherrick McManis before the game and told him, “Punch it. Why not?” That’s a #PeanutPunch for Sherrick McManis.
LOSER: Matt Nagy
GettyChicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy’s offense has looked awful through week 5. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden chose to fly his team out to London earlier in the week in order to get acclimated to the time change and new environment. Gruden and the Raiders had a game in London in 2018 in which they left the Friday morning prior to the game, and they lost badly after looking horribly sluggish.
Nagy chose to arrive Friday morning London time, and whether or not the team’s lackluster and sloppy efforts on both sides of the ball were a coincidence or a result of this decision by Nagy, well, that’s going to be a hotly debated subject all week.
Matt Nagy better figure out this offense.
There’s no reason they should be putting out an offensive product on par with the John Fox era. #Bears
That’s the worst half of football by the #Bears in the Matt Nagy era. No doubt about it.
When does the 202-level offense start? After the bye? I say it all the time, 21.5 games into this install and I still have no idea of what their identity is.
LOSER: Charles Leno Jr.
GettyChicago Bears Tackle Charles Leno Jr. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
The Bears starting left tackle Charles Leno Jr. had another penalty-filled game for the Bears, setting his offense and his team back multiple times. Leno was particularly bad on a drive the Bears had early in the fourth quarter, in which he had multiple holding penalties called on him in one drive. Some were calling for Leno’s replacement, Cornelius Lucas to take his place.
At this point I’d think hard about putting Cornelius Lucas in for Charles Leno. How many dumb penalties is 1 guy allowed?
Charles Leno now has six penalties called on him this season moving into a tie for first among the most penalized players in the NFL.
WINNER: Khalil Mack
GettyChicago Bears linebacker Khalil Mack played well against the raiders in London. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
Mack recovered a Derek Carr fumble that brought the Bears into the red zone and set them up for their first touchdown.
Mack had good pressure all game and provided the initial spark that brought the Bears back into this game.
WINNER: Allen Robinson
GettyBears WR Allen Robinson was the team’s best offensive weapon against the Raiders defense Sunday in London. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Allen Robinson was the team’s offensive standout, and he had an incredible game full of excellent catches. After not getting into the end zone in the previous four games, Robinson had two touchdowns and finished with seven catches on seven targets for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
Back to a one-score game courtesy of @ChaseDaniel and @AllenRobinson!
The Bears will head into their bye week with a good deal to work on.