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Oakland Raiders: 3 things we learned after loss to Chicago Bears

By Ira Miller, The Sports Xchange
The Oakland Raiders and QB Derek Carr fell short against the Chicago Bears in their attempt to win a second consecutive road game. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
The Oakland Raiders and QB Derek Carr fell short against the Chicago Bears in their attempt to win a second consecutive road game. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

CHICAGO -- They were already starting to think it was the "same old Jay" on Sunday at Soldier Field when Jay Cutler threw a fourth-quarter interception that the Oakland Raiders turned into a go-ahead field goal against Cutler's Chicago Bears.

But, despite the after-effects of a hamstring injury that kept him out of a game last week, Cutler instead played the hero instead of the goat. He drove the Bears 48 yards in the last two minutes, Robbie Gould kicked his third field goal of the game, a 49-yarder with two seconds remaining, and the Bears beat the Raiders, 22-20, for their first victory of the season.

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Cutler deferred credit to a jury-rigged offensive line, juggled because of injuries, but the difference in the game was the patience he showed -- maybe because the hamstring forced him to -- in completing 28 of 43 passes, including 5 of 8 on the winning drive.

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"There were a lot of moving parts up there, and those guys held their own," said Cutler, who acknowledged that he was limited "a little bit" physically by the hamstring and deliberately kept himself from trying to scramble out of the pocket.

It appeared the Raiders made an error by settling for a field goal with 2:05 remaining to take a 20-19 lead and effect the sixth lead change of the game, rather than play aggressively for a touchdown that might have made a Chicago comeback more difficult.

After they got to the Bears' 33-yard line with more than four minutes remaining, Oakland did not throw another pass, instead calling four consecutive running plays before Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 41-yard field goal.

Oakland coach Jack Del Rio defended the play calling, saying, "I think we felt like we were moving it pretty good and thought we had a better shot to move the sticks on that third-and-2."

One problem for the Raiders was that, by that point in the game, Del Rio already had benched his leading rusher, Latavius Murray, because of a lost fumble and two dropped passes, one of which Murray bounced into an interception.

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After the Janikowski kick, the Bears kick-started their winning drive with Cutler's fourth-down completion to tight end Martellus Bennett, who caught 11 passes, second highest total of his career, for 83 yards.

What we learned about the Raiders:

--1. They are better but still have a ways to go. They can't afford the number of mistakes they made against the Bears if they expect to win; their margin is too slim.

--2. Safety Charles Woodson, even at age 38, still can play. Woodson made a terrific interception of a long ball intended for Martellus Bennett in the fourth quarter that was essential to keeping the Raiders in the game.

--3. Second-year quarterback Derek Carr has a future, but he's still inconsistent. He missed some receivers and was late throwing to others.

Etc.:

--RB Latavius Murray is a dangerous runner, but the Raiders don't have enough of a margin to keep him on the field when he's dropping passes and fumbling, as he did against Chicago.

--QB Derek Carr continues to look like the quarterback Oakland has been seeking for years. In four games, he has completed 62.6 percent of his attempts, had a 7-to-2 TD-to-interception ratio and a passer rating of 97.7, while averaging 7.5 yards per attempt.

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--K Sebastian Janikowski rarely misses, but the way the Raiders' offense operated in the fourth quarter leaves open the question of whether he is so efficient that the coaches get too conservative with play-calling, knowing he will get points. Sometimes, as happened Sunday, a field goal is not enough.

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