EmBEARassed: Raiders Blown Out in Windy City

CHICAGO, Ill.--For the Las Vegas Raiders, it was two steps forward and one big one in reverse.

Running back D’Onta Foreman scored three touchdowns, and undrafted free agent rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent, in his first NFL start, guided the previously hapless Chicago Bears to a 30-12 rout of the Raiders on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The Bears (2-5) had lost ten consecutive games at home and were 2-19 in their last 21 games, dating to last season.

The Raiders (3-4) two-game winning streak was snapped in the embarrassing defeat as backup quarterback Brian Hoyer threw two interceptions, including the clincher by cornerback Jaylon Johnson. He returned 39 yards for a touchdown with 5:36 left in the game.

Johnson picked off another pass thrown by rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who replaced Hoyer in the final minutes, and the Raiders have thrown a league-leading total of 12 interceptions this season. Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who missed this game because of a back injury he sustained last week in a victory over the New England Patriots, has thrown nine picks.

“We didn’t do anything well enough to deserve to win,” Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels said.

Foreman rushed for 89 yards on 16 carries and touchdown runs of two and three yards as the Bears built a 14-3 halftime lead while catching three passes and a five-yard score in the third quarter to make it 21-3. Running back Darrynton Evans added 48 yards on 14 carries.

That was more than enough because the Raiders’ offense has not scored 20 points in a game this season, as Las Vegas got 21 last week against the Patriots only because the defense scored a game-clinching safety in the final minutes.

Bagent, playing because starting quarterback Justin Fields was out because of a dislocated right thumb, was efficient as he completed 21-of-29 passes for 162 yards and the touchdown without an interception and ran three times for 24 yards.

“Where I come from, I've got a bunch of friends, a bunch of family, that understood how big this was just in a life,” said Bagent, who grew up in Martinsburg, W.Va., and went undrafted out of Division II Shepherd University in his home state.

“Not a lot of people get to say they started in an NFL game, let alone win an NFL game. I definitely had a lot of those conversations today. I think the staff understood it, too, and the players. That's why everybody rallied behind me as well as they did.”

Wide receiver DJ Moore led the Bears with eight receptions for 54 yards, while wide receiver Darnell Mooney caught four balls for 32 yards.

By contrast, Hoyer completed 17-of-32 passes for 129 without a touchdown but with two interceptions. In contrast, O’Connell completed 10-of-13 passes for 75 yards and a meaningless touchdown of nine yards to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers with 1:10 left in the game, in addition to the interception.

All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams, unhappy to have only two receptions last week, made seven catches for 57 yards but had a potential touchdown pass go off his fingertips. In comparison, Meyers also had seven receptions for 50 yards

“Not to discredit anything they did, because I feel like they played a pretty solid game all-around, but it definitely had nothing to do with any crazy things that they did,” Adams said. “It’s more of us hurting ourselves.”.

Running back Josh Jacobs, the defending NFL rushing champion, again did not get going and had his second-lowest rushing total of the season with 35 yards on 11 carries, as the Raiders managed only 39 yards rushing compared to 173 for the Bears. Jacobs made only one reception for six yards and had a pass bounce off his hands to Chicago linebacker Tremaine Edmunds for an interception that led to the Bears’ second touchdown to score 14-3 in the second quarter.

Daniel Carlson kicked field goals of 40 and 25 yards for the Raiders but uncharacteristically missed his first kick in his last 20 attempts from inside 50 yards when his 41-yarder went wide left after another Las Vegas drive bogged down in scoring position.

Chicago wound up with 323 total yards to 235 for the Raiders, and the Bears dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 34 minutes and six seconds to 25:54 for the Silver and Black.

Linebacker Robert Spillane led the Raiders with eight tackles. At the same time, safety Tre’Von Moehrig and safety Marcus Peters had seven stops, while defensive end Maxx Crosby made five tackles, one quarterback hit, one tackle for a loss, and one sack, giving him six and a half this season.

Raiders rookie defensive end Tyree Wilson, the seventh pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, added two tackles, two quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and the first sack of his pro career.

Safety Jaquan Brisker led Chicago with ten tackles and one pass defensed; Edmunds made eight stops and defended two. In comparison, cornerback Kyler Gordon had seven tackles and one quarterback hit as the Bears dominated the Raiders' offense.

Captain Maxx Crosby said it best after the game in the locker room, "Embarrassing."

The Raiders are on the road next week to play another NFC North team, the Detroit Lions (5-2), in Monday Night Football on Oct. 30 at Ford Field in Detroit before returning home to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for two games against the teams from New York.

The New York Giants (2-5) will come to Las Vegas on Sunday, Nov. 5, and the New York Jets (3-3) will play the Raiders on Sunday Night Football on Oct. 12. After that, the Silver and Black go back out on the road to play the Miami Dolphins (5-1) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday, Nov. 19.

The Silver and Black will stay on the road to take on the Detroit Lions on Monday night, October 30, at 8:15 p.m. EDT/5:15 p.m. PDT.

Please tell us your thoughts when you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.