Momentum shifted for both the Chicago Bears and the Las Vegas Raiders after their respective games last week.
The Bears evened their record with a much-needed win against the Detroit Lions, which in turn earned Justin Fields the starting role moving forward.
For Las Vegas, the Raiders’ offense was the talk of the NFL through the first three weeks of the season, but the Los Angeles Chargers made those talks a little quieter after a 28-14 win over the Raiders Monday night.
Game Odds
Oddsmakers still are not sold on the Bears. BetUs has the Raiders pegged as a 5.5-point favorite in this one with heavy 240 odds on the Moneyline.
BetUs also has set the Over/Under at 45 points with -110 odds on either side of the number.
Playing the Fields Game
Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy has stated all season that veteran Andy Dalton would be the starter under center, if healthy. That narrative changed earlier this week as the rookie out of Ohio State was named the permanent starter after posting a 74.6 QBR in last week’s win over the Lions.
For the season, Fields’ total QBR of 17.1 ranks 32nd in the league as he has passed for just 347 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Welcome Back
After missing the previous two games, Las Vegas All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs returned to the field Monday night. Jacobs had his number called 13 times for 40 yards in the loss. Falling behind 21-0 at the half may have altered the Raiders’ plan for Jacobs’ workload, but those numbers should increase this week.
The Raiders will need Jacobs back to be as close to his old self as possible, with Kenyan Drake being a nonfactor through the first four weeks of the season and the uncertain status of Peyton Barber.
New No. 1 WR?
Playing on a franchise tag, Allen Robinson has just 13 receptions for 149 yards this season, which ranks second, in both categories, to Darnell Mooney. After last week’s 5-reception, 125-yard game, Mooney has 17 grabs for 226 yards on the season and has quickly become Fields’ favorite target, especially on the deep throws.
With leading rusher David Montgomery (309 yards, three touchdowns) out for 4-6 weeks, the Bears may look to the passing game a little more.
Grounded
The Raiders’ aerial attack was put on hold last week as the Chargers held Derek Carr to 196 yards passing — his first game south of 300 yards in his last six games. For the season, Carr still ranks 2nd in passing with 1,399 yards as Henry Ruggs (297), Darren Waller (274), Hunter Renfrow (249), and Bryan Edwards (214) all have over 200 yards receiving.
The Bears’ defense ranks 15th in the league against the pass, allowing 239 yards per game.
Sack Attack
With four more sacks in last week’s win over Detroit, the Bears now have a league-best 15 for the season. Robert Quinn is having a bounce-back season and leads the team with 4.5 sacks on the season, while Khalil Mack has registered four.
Quinn has recorded at least half a sack in all four games this season.
Trends
The Bears are 4-2 against the spread in their last six games against the Raiders.
The Under has hit in 4 of the last five games for the Bears, but the Over has hit in 4 of the last six games against the Raiders.
The Over has hit in 7 of the last ten games overall for Las Vegas.
Free Bet: Over 45 (-110)