Week 4 is here for the Las Vegas Raiders as they await the Chicago Bears, led by last year’s top pick, Caleb Williams. Injuries, fantasy football, and gambling—we got you covered. With that said, let’s get going!
Vibes
Bad, man. The vibes surrounding the Raiders are just plain awful. Las Vegas enters this game on the heels of two straight double-digit losses. To make matters worse, the most recent one came against a Washington Commanders team quarterbacked by journeyman backup Marcus Mariota. The Bears are starting to gain momentum after securing their first victory of the season in a dominant performance against the Dallas Cowboys.
Injury News
Looking at the injury report, the Raiders appear to be in pretty good shape. They’ll be without their second tight end, Michael Mayer, but that is about it. The Bears are a little more banged up, especially on the defensive side of the ball. They are already without defensive back Jaylon Johnson, so they cannot afford to lose any more players. On offense, pay attention to rookie tight end Colston Loveland. If he is unable to play, Chicago’s personnel groupings may be limited, as they usually prefer to use him and Cole Kmet together in two-tight-end formations.
Fantasy Focus
Both quarterbacks, Geno Smith and Caleb Williams, have some low-end QB1 potential in what could be a shootout. For the Raiders, you have to continue to start Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers. Trey Tucker could even be a possible desperation flex play in deeper leagues. However, it is time to bench Ashton Jeanty until Las Vegas figures out how to run the ball. On the Bears side of things, the only real must-starter is Rome Odunze. DJ Moore could also be worth some consideration as a flex option.
Gambling Corner
After last week, it is hard to feel good about the Raiders beating anybody. Bears moneyline at -105 is not terrible value. That being said, the real value this week is on the prop bets. This is a great week to hammer the overs on Geno Smith and Caleb Williams passing yards. Also, Tre Tucker is getting crazy value to score this week at +210.
Expectations
Fans should expect something between last week’s game against the Commanders and the season opener against New England. We will likely see a bunch of points and the Raiders should look better than they have over the past two weeks. However, in that time the offensive line has been exposed and that will likely be Las Vegas’ undoing in crunch time.
Prediction: Raiders 27, Bears 30
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*Top Photo: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images