Chicago Bears: 3 Winners from Week 5 vs. Raiders

Week 5 Winner No. 2: Chicago Bears defense

A lot can be gleaned from the final score of this game. 20-9 does not necessarily scream a great game, but it does show a gritty effort by a defense that stifled a top offense in the league. They held an MVP candidate to barely over 200 yards and no touchdowns. The Chicago Bears defense is a big winner coming out of Week 5 and it looks like a little bit of that 2018 magic might be back.

Everyone was flying all over the field to make plays in this game. Danny Trevathan was back and we saw him in spurts, as well as Roquan Smith playing all over the field and making some super clutch tackles. The Bears linebacking core seems set as a large producer on this defense, led by a sure-to-be All-Pro in Smith.

The secondary is still not great overall, but they have stepped up lately. Eddie Jackson is still nowhere to be seen for the most part, but it has been nothing but consistency from CB1 Jaylon Johnson. The rest of the secondary did their job in holding the Raiders’ offense to limited yards and no big plays. There were a couple of close calls, and the Raiders did beat themselves at times with some drops and timely penalties, but the secondary was a strong point and contributed to the team effort on defense. Deandre Houston-Carson had a big interception that helped keep the momentum for the Bears.

The main point of the defense continues to be the pass rush. Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Angelo Blackson, and Trevis Gipson all stood out against the Raiders and put consistent pressure in the face of Derek Carr. Credit to these players and to Sean Desai who has been great in defensive scheming and play-calling ever since Week 1.