The Oakland Raiders snuck past the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 with a 31-24 victory. That win pushed them to 2-2 on the year.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears once again proved to have an incredibly dominant defense in their 16-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4. This moved their record to 3-1 in 2019.
Despite being the home team, Oakland finds themselves as the underdogs heading into this game. So what do they have to do to pull out a victory?
If the Raiders are going to win, here are four reasons why.
Chase Daniel
Let's not pretend like the Bears were killing it in the quarterback department this year. Mitchell Trubisky wasn't exactly making anyone fear Chicago's offense.
However, things have gotten worse. Trubisky suffered an injury and in came Chase Daniel.
To his credit, Daniel looked sharp in Week 4. However, he didn't light the world on fire.
The big takeaway here is this is still a backup quarterback. It's a backup quarterback on a team that was having issues with their starting quarterback.
This is the perfect chance for the Raiders to pounce. They're going up against a weak offense with a major hole at quarterback that somehow got even bigger over the last week.
Oakland's defense hasn't been very good this season. However, if there was ever a time to be ultra aggressive it's this week. Daniel will only have had one week with the first-team and might not be completely comfortable with everything. The Raiders could definitely take advantage of the bad situation Chicago finds themselves in right now.
Darren Waller
Oakland has a star tight end. There, I said it. Many people speculated before the season that Darren Waller would have a really good year. He's done even more than that.
Through four games, Waller has 33 receptions for 320 yards. He's a constant presence in the passing game and is a very good blocker in the running game. Countless times can you see him making a lead blocker for the running back or a receiver that caught a short pass.
Waller has helped to make what could've been an absolutely dreadful passing attack (after the Antonio Brown debacle) into one that's at least respectable.
He should see a lot of targets against Chicago.
One of the best, most intimidating defenses in the NFL could cause a lot of problems for the Raiders in Week 5. This means they'll have to have a solid game plan in place. That leans heavily on Waller.
Oakland will want to go with short passes. Trying to give your quarterback time to find someone deep down the field is nearly impossible against Chicago's pass rush. Besides, Khalil Mack doesn't need more than two seconds to get to a quarterback. And you definitely do not want him getting to your quarterback.
This means short passes will be the name of the game, and who better for Derek Carr to throw those to than Waller.
Waller has shown good route running and good hands. Now he'll get even more of an opportunity to show what he can do after the catch. Expect him to factor in big time.
Josh Jacobs
Speaking of factoring in big time, Josh Jacobs has been superb at running back. The rookie has 307 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 62 carries (5.0 yards per carry).
Yes, he's going up against the Bears' defense. That's a defense that has humbled a lot of star players. However, Jacobs has a few advantages. For one thing, they've never seen him in action before.
None of the Chicago defenders have gone against Jacobs in an NFL game before. This means they won't personally know what works against him and what doesn't.
Another advantage for Jacobs is that he's just an all-around stud. Jacobs has a fantastic combination of speed, power and agility. That means Oakland can use him in any number of different ways.
They'll want to get him involved early and often. Again this takes the game out of Mack's hands a little bit. Yes, he's still extremely dangerous against the run, but it takes away his biggest weapon- getting to the quarterback.
Injuries
Trubisky isn't the only Bears' player dealing with injuries at the moment.
Wide receiver Taylor Gabriel could miss some action as well. Meanwhile guard Kyle Long is dealing with an injury too.
That would make a bad offense turn into one that is dangerously close to being miserable.
Meanwhile, Akiem Hicks is one of the best players on Chicago's defense. He's a game time decision. If he is out of action, things become a lot easier for Oakland.
Suddenly, they can play keep away from Mack. Run the ball to whatever side he isn't on. Put extra blockers on him without worrying as much about others.
That would certainly change the game a lot.
Yes, like every team, the Raiders are dealing with some injuries themselves. However, Chicago's already down a quarterback and could now be down one of their few receiving threats and a star offensive lineman. Defensively Hicks would be a major blow too.
Could that shift the game in Oakland's favor?
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