Keys to the game roundtable: Bears vs. Raiders

The Chicago Bears are going to have an uphill battle to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday with their backup quarterback.

Las Vegas will also have their backup playing, but Brian Hoyer has loads more experience than Tyson Bagent.

So what is it going to take for the Bears to come out with an unlikely win? Our team breaks it down.

Sam: Why should I think the Bears are going to win? I want to have hope against hope. And it’s not even that I think that the team has no talent. It’s that their coaches are among the worst in the league. And Josh McDaniels is not a good NFL head coach, but I think that the Bears’ staff is proven to be among the worst. Anyway, get DJ Moore involved and rely on the ground game. You have an undrafted rookie QB starting or one of the worst backups in the NFL starting, so don’t make them try to win it. Try and run it 45 times and use play action. Defense, keep with what you’ve been doing because it’s weirdly been better? I don’t know. Make whoever is starting for Vegas uncomfortable and rushed.

Josh: Actually protect the quarterback. That’s it. Just call protection schemes that aren’t actively idiotic. See what happens.

Taylor: Snap the ball into the hands of the Quarterback for one. I said it last week and the exact opposite happened but win the turnover battle, this game to me is similar to the Vikings game where if you win that you can win the game. We have seen improvements from the defense when it comes to third downs and creating some pressure so I would like to see that continue, rattle Jimmy (if he’s playing) if not then it's Brian Hoyer and you definitely have to take advantage of that.

Lester: Cheering for this team is so challenging... But pound the rock as much as possible and protect the quarterback by any means necessary. The Raiders are allowing 4.3 yards per carry and Chicago’s o-line has shown the ability to create some holes up front, so run the damn ball. Get the QB under center, max protect, play action, and pay extra attention to Maxx Crosby, who is a dynamo off the edge for Las Vegas.

Jack R Salo: Offense: With a backup quarterback and suspect pass protection, the Bears are likely to pound the rock on Sunday. A key to that is going to be yards after contact. With Khalil Herbert on IR and Roschon Johnson likely to miss this contest, D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer should split the majority of carries. One or both are going to have to bust off some big gains after first contact, which will force the Raiders defense to play honest and give Tyson Bagent some time to throw.

Defense: The Bears defense actually forced two turnovers last Sunday, but one was called off as the refs committed robbery in broad daylight on Edwards’ fumble recovery. Nevertheless, a key for the Bears D is to continue getting after the football and continue taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. We could see a backup quarterback for both teams on Sunday, so which defense is more opportunistic?

What are your keys?