Oakland Raiders: Top 5 takeaways from Week 5 victory over the Chicago Bears

1. Gruden comes through…again

Jon Gruden may never live up to the hype that came with inking a ten-year, $100 million contract, but he’s slowly inching his way up in terms of value.

The Oakland Raiders have established a trend of breaking out early in games, and this game was no different. The insanely quick start knocked the Bears back on their heels, threatening a blowout before halftime even came to save Chicago.

The focus coming right out of the gates is largely a result of the fire lit in individual players, sure, but there is no question that Jon Gruden is the man who is sparking that flame.

While the Bears looked jet-lagged at best, the Oakland Raiders were shredding them in almost every aspect of the game. It was a demoralizing second quarter for a Chicago team that was expecting a win this week.

But there’s a reason why the games are played and not simply left up to what the odds makers predict.

Gruden has had the right game-plan over and over again this season. The Raiders have scored nearly three-quarters of their points in the first half of games, and much of that comes from the preparation of their head coach.

In one of the key moments of the game, the Raiders were looking at 4th-and-1 with just under six minutes left to go in regulation. The Bears had just received a silly running into the kicker penalty that gave the Raiders a chance to continue their drive.

Gruden, seeing the writing on the wall with time winding down and a four-point deficit, called for a fake punt that gave Oakland a new set of downs and eventually ended in a touchdown that would secure the win.

These little plays can go one way or another. Coaches can look like geniuses or idiots depending on the outcome of these trick plays, but Gruden made the right call, and he deserves credit for it.

And even if he doesn’t deserve credit there, his preparation has quickly thrust the Raiders into a record above .500 headed into the bye week.

That might not sound like much, but it’s better than expected. It’s a team that will be experiencing growing pains. The personnel will need inevitable improvements.

But Jon Gruden is working with what he’s got, and he’s showing promise that he can make something out of nothing.

The hope has to be that — when Gruden finally gets his way, gets his personnel, and gets his scheme — that he’ll be orchestrating a team firing on all cylinders.

Now we’ll see how he does with an extra week of preparation against the Green Bay Packers.