Chicago Bears: 3 keys to defeating the Las Vegas Raiders

Key Three: 

The Chicago Bears are playing a home game on the road as there should be lots of fans.

The Chicago Bears, one of the marquee NFL franchises, have a traveling fanbase – as do a lot of teams. However, what makes that especially relevant for this matchup is that for some reason, Bears fans have decided to congregate and have a weekend partying in Vegas leading up to the game.

Apparently, lots of Sunday’s tickets to the Raiders game have been sold to patrons with Illinois zip codes. This doesn’t even include Bears fans living in the Vegas area or the west coast in general. I believe the Bears fans will be out in full force on Sunday, making life hard for Derek Carr and the Raiders from the jump.

While I think the Raiders should be favored in this game, and have obviously demonstrated they’re the better team ahead of this matchup, there is something to be said for the intangible factors going into a game.

Here we have the Chicago Bears playing essentially a home game on the road, with the Justin Fields era permanently underway, a chance to get back into the thick of the NFC North division race, cement themselves in the wild-card race. On top of that, they have advantages in marquee areas with their running attack and rushing defense/pass rush.

Advantage: Chicago Bears

Final Score Prediction:  Bears: 23, Raiders: 19

Other Game Predictions: 

• 225 yards passing, 70 yards rushing, 2 total TDs for Justin Fields
• Khalil Mack ends the week leading the NFL in sacks (currently 2 behind 1st place)
• Raiders held under 40 yards rushing