The Chicago Bears will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Soldier Field, as it will be the first visit to Chicago by the Raiders since their relocation to Las Vegas. It will be a battle of backup quarterbacks, as both teams will be without their starting signal-callers for the game due to injuries. With each team being a storied franchise in the league, every time the two teams meet, it is a noticeable affair, as every contest in Chicago recently has been decided in the last few seconds.
Every Game In Chicago Between The Raiders And The Bears Has Been Decided By Less Than Three Points
In the last 30 years, the Bears have hosted the Raiders four times at Soldier Field since 1993. With AFC and NFC opponents playing one another every four years, and every three years before the league added the Houston Texans in 2002, the two teams would visit the opponent’s home every six to eight years. Chicago hosted Oakland at Soldier Field in 1993, 1996, 2003, and 2015, with the 12-year gap from 2003 to 2015 being because the Bears played in Oakland in 2007 and 2011 due to scheduling alignments by the league.
In the four games played in Chicago, each contest was determined in the final seconds of the game, came down to a field, and often involved a late-game comeback. During the 1993 affair, the Raiders led most of the game by a score of 16-7 before Bears’ quarterback Jim Harbaugh led the offense on a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive to make the score 16-14. With less than two minutes left, Chicago would recover an onsides kick and then drove to Oakland’s 12-yard line, setting up a 30-yard field goal for kicker Kevin Butler. With one second left, Butler would miss the field goal, giving the Raiders a 16-14 win.
Three years later, fate would be on the Bear’s side as they would be victorious with a game-winning field goal as time expired. There were several similarities in the 1996 game to the 1993 contest as Oakland led by double-digits in the second half, only for Chicago to mount a late-game comeback. In 1996, Bears’ quarterback Dave Kreig led the offense on four straight scoring drives to erase a 17-3 deficit. Chicago’s kicker Jeff Jeager hit a 30-yard game-winning field goal as time expired, and oddly enough, Jeager was Oakland’s kicker during the 1993 contest.
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Seven years would pass before Oakland would visit Chicago again, becoming the second-ever road opponent to play at the newly renovated Soldier Field during a Week 5 matchup. The Raiders, who were the reigning AFC Champions, took what appeared to be a commanding 18-3 into the fourth quarter against the winless Bears. Chicago quarterback Kordell Stewart and running back Anthony Thomas led Chicago’s offense on two touchdown drives, giving the team a 21-18 lead with minutes to go. Following a game-tying field goal from the Raiders, Stewart connected on a 29-yard pass to wide receiver Dez White, which allowed kicker Paul Edinger to hit a 48-yard game-winning field goal as time expired, giving the Bears their first win of 2003 and their first win at the new Soldier Field.
In 2015, Chicago never trailed by a double-digit deficit but did trail at different points of the game in a back-and-forth affair, as there were six lead changes throughout the contest. Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked a late field goal to give his team a 20-19 lead with just two minutes left. Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler would lead the offense on a last-minute drive to set up kicker Robbie Gould for a 49-yard field goal for the win. Gould’s kick was good, and Chicago won their first game of 2015 by a score of 22-20.
Sunday’s Game Could Come Down To Another Field Goal
Sunday’s matchup between Las Vegas and Chicago could again come down to a last-second field goal due to multiple reasons. With Justin Fields out for the Bears and Jimmy Garoppolo sidelined for the Raiders, Tyson Bagent and Brian Hoyer will be the starting quarterbacks. Although Chicago’s defense has struggled to stop opponents, Las Vegas has struggled on offense, as they have yet to score more than 21 points in a game this season.
Chicago’s defense improved a bit last week with the return of many starters in the secondary, including safety Eddie Jackson and cornerback Kyler Gordon, but the team could be without Jackson again this Sunday due to a lingering foot injury. Additionally, Chicago could be without rookie offensive tackle Darnell Wright, as the rookie has been sidelined in practice this week with a shoulder injury. It would be a massive disadvantage to have a backup tackle faceoff against one of the league’s best defensive ends, Maxx Crosby, who has five and a half sacks this season.
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The most significant player in Sunday’s game between the Raiders and Bears will be Bagent, who is making his first start in the NFL after playing most of the second half last week after Fields’ dislocated his thumb. The undrafted rookie flashed against the Vikings as he led the Bears on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive, making several key throws, including a 25-yard pass to DJ Moore. With having an entire week of practice, it will be interesting to see if he can improve and if he could potentially lead Chicago on a last-minute scoring drive to set up a game-winning field goal, which is how each contest at Soldier Field between the two teams has ended the last 30 years.
