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

By James Carroll

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Daryl Worley #20 of the Oakland Raiders runs with the ball after making an interception, going on to score a touchdown which is later reversed after a review during the NFL match between the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Daryl Worley #20 of the Oakland Raiders runs with the ball after making an interception, going on to score a touchdown which is later reversed after a review during the NFL match between the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 06: Derek Carr of Oakland Raiders in action during the game between Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. Oakland Raiders (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images) /

2. The O-Line showed up, and Khalil Mack did not

For Raider Nation, anything Khalil Mack related might seem like beating a dead horse at this point.

But the storyline will always exist; Khalil Mack will always be positioned as the scorned lover of the Oakland Raiders who is seeking vengeance against them by living in Derek Carr’s nightmares.

The pass rush will be looked at under a microscope as they try to avoid finishing in dead last in sacks like last year. The team will attempt to do its best to escape the “what if’s” surrounding Mack still with the Raiders.

Understandably, going into this week, that was going to be one of the talking points.

But by the end of the game, there wasn’t a whole lot to say.

The offensive line did a fantastic job giving Carr time to set up and scan the field to see what his options were — especially considering a depleted wide receiver core that forced him to spread out his options.

Mack, meanwhile, recorded just three tackles. No sacks.

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In fact, Carr wasn’t sacked a single time by any Bears player. The much-ballyhooed Chicago defense got shelled thanks to an excellent and likely-understated performance by the offensive line.

The Raiders were able to put up more yards in the first half against the Bears than any other team had against them in a full game this season. Mack only got in Carr’s vicinity once.

You have to figure that the performance of the offensive line was going to be a focus coming into this game. Players want to play up to their opponents. It’s a promising sign to see that the Raiders didn’t back down from a tough assignment this week.

As a bonus to all of this, the pass rush looked excellent as well. They were able to get to Chase Daniel, sacking him three times and immediately making the backup quarterback uncomfortable.

Benson Mayowa’s sack in yesterday’s game brings his sack total to 4.5 on the year, more than any individual player did in 2018 with the Oakland Raiders.

With plenty of season left to go, it seems like the Raiders might have a chance to start silencing some of the media stories connecting Mack and his quest for vengeance against the Silver and Black.

If the team is able to keep him quiet in the box score, there won’t be much more to talk about in that regard.

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