The AFC West-leading Raiders take on 7-3 Bears in Oakland in a battle of teams looking to tighten up their holds on playoff spots in their respective conferences. The Raiders come off a hard-fought win on the road against the Vikings while the Bears beat the Chargers at home. During the game, however, Bears QB Cutler broke a finger trying to make a tackle and will be out for this game and possibly the rest of the season. The Raiders know what the Bears will have to go through as they lost starting QB Campbell in week 6 and had to scramble to find a QB in Carson Palmer. The Bears tried to claim Orton off waivers but were unsuccessful when the Chiefs claimed him ahead of them. They will be starting Caleb Hanie, who will be making his first start since his senior year at Colorado State. Let's take a look at the matchups and predict a winner.
Raiders Offense vs. Bears Defense
The Raiders have several injuries on offense that could play a significant role in the game. McFadden is listed as out and may not be back until the Packer game on Dec. 11, but will be in good hands with Bush as he has carried the load well the last three weeks in his absence. The other skill players that might not play are WR's Moore, Heyward-Bey, and Ford. Ford is listed as out and Heyward-Bey is more likely to play than Moore, even though he suffered a neck injury in last week's game. The Bears will try and stop the run first and rely on their ball-hawking defense to turn the ball over in the passing game. They rank second in the league in take-aways with 23. The Bears can be run-on as they rank 11th in the league in yards allowed/game but with the fewest attempts. That translates into one of the worst rush averages in the league at 4.9 yards/rush, good for 30th. A heavy dose of Bush should translate into success for the Raiders.
Advantage: Raiders
Raiders Defense vs. Bears Offense
The Raiders success on defense depends on the success against stopping the run and it will be no different in this game. The Bears without Cutler will rely even more on Forte and the running game. The Raiders have won every game they have held their opponent to under 125 yards rushing. This will be a matchup that will come down to whoever can control the line of scrimmage. The Bears offensive line is banged up and should be an area that the Raiders can exploit. If the Raiders cannot control Forte's yards from scrimmage, it could be a long day. The Bears will not be able to hold up if they have to throw the ball while playing catch-up. The key for the Raiders is to get up early and keep the score at ten points or more.
Advantage: Bears
Special Teams
The Bears possess one of the most dangerous return-men ever to play the game in Devin Hester. He has already returned 2 punts for TDs and 1 kickoff for a TD this year. The Raiders will be without Ford for kickoffs and possibly Moore for punts. They also will probably be without Taiwan Jones on kickoffs as he is nursing a hamstring, which leaves them without any of their regular return-men. They will have the services of a healthy Janikowski for the first time in several weeks.
Advantage: Bears
Prediction: Raiders 21, Bears 13
Record to Date: 5-4
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