What history tells us between Raiders and Bears |
After seeing a familiar face in the Minnesota Vikings last week, it is back to the unfamiliar opponents this week as the Bears will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. This is a game the Bears would love to have, especially after they feel they let one get away last week.
When it comes to the history of these teams, this will be the 17th time they have met over the years, with this series sitting deadlocked 8-8. Someone will take the overall lead this weekend unless there is a tie, and no one wants to get into that. Considering how things started once these first started playing, the Bears have had the upper hand lately as the Raiders won the first three meetings from 1972-1978 to grab an early advantage. Following that, the Bears responded with three straight wins during the 80s, as they won their first game against the Raiders in 1981 by a score of 23-6 and then followed that up with 17-6 and 6-3 wins in 1984 and 1987 to even the series up 3-3. A pair of wins by the Raiders in 1990 and 93 gave them the lead again, but since the middle part of the 1990s, the Bears have been going 5-3 as they have been the ones playing better. Since losing to the then-Oakland Raiders 24-17 in 1999, the Bears have taken care of business and have won four of the last six meetings between the two. That includes their previous meeting in 2021 when the Bears went into Las Vegas and came away with a 20-9 victory. Justin Fields had a very pedestrian 111 yards passing in the win, but did come away with the go-ahead touchdown to Jesper Horstad to give the Bears the lead. Derek Carr threw for 206 yards in the loss, while the Chicago front seven held Josh Jacobs to just 48 yards on 11 carries. That will be one of the things to watch once again this week. Not only did the Bears win their last meeting against the Raiders, but taking it a step further, the last time the Raiders came into Soldier Field was in 2015, and it was a game that the Bears survived 22-20. Carr was also the QB in that game and was held to under 200 yards passing despite tossing for two scores. On the other hand, Jay Cutler had a great day as he also tossed for a pair of scores to Eddie Royle and Martellus Bennett while throwing for 281 yards. Matt Forte added close to 100 yards on the ground in that game as the Bears had a terrific balanced attack that gave the Raiders fits that day.
Sticking with the Soldier Field theme, this will be the eighth time the Raiders are coming to the Windy City, with the Bears holding a 4-3 mark against them at home. That comes after the Raiders took the first two meetings at Chicago, and since then, the Bears have responded by winning four of their last five. The Raiders lone win at Solider Field since the '70s came in 1993 when the Raiders held on for the 16-14.
It has been 20 years since that victory, and some may say the Raiders are due, while others would say the Bears own the Raiders at home. While the overall record is tied up, and things have been very tightly contested at home, fans should expect more of the same when these teams get together this weekend.
These matchups tend to come down to the final few minutes and become a matter of who can make more plays than the other. If Justin Fields weren't hurt, the Bears would have a clear advantage, but with Tyson Bagent looking like he will start, this could be another low-scoring and ugly affair. Chicago is hoping they can be the ones to come out on top to secure their second win.
