Oakland Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 5 win over the Bears
By Nico Di Fede
The Oakland Raiders rookies had their fingerprints all over the 24-21 win over the Chicago Bears in London. Here’s how the 2019 class is currently trending.
True to their name, the Oakland Raiders went overseas and stole the upset, coming out victorious in an intense 24-21 game in London, England on Sunday.
The team learned from their mistake last year, opting to fly to England the same day as their win against the Colts allowing them to adjust to the time change for a week, while the Bears mimicked the mistake from last year, not getting there until Friday.
The Raiders came out hot as usual this season and the Bears may have looked flat to start, but it would be unfair to the Raiders to say that the time adjustment was a big reason for the win.
The team enacted the exact gameplan everyone knew they would have to enact in order to come away with a win against the Bears elite front-seven and won because of it.
This win was not only so satisfying due to the media and even most of the Raiders’ own fanbase counting them out, or even because it is the first time playing against Khalil Mack since trading him.
Rather it was because the rookies, one of which was used with the pick acquired in the Mack trade in Josh Jacobs, had their fingerprints all over the game, showing that the plan to build for the future last year is starting to look right despite the mocking the team faced for doing so.