Raiders week 4 Report Card vs Bears: Offensive struggles early, falters late

The Raiders hit the road for the second consecutive week as they traveled to Chicago to take on the winless Bears. Only problem was, Chicago didn't look like an 0-3 team as they controlled the tempo of the game and kept the Raiders 7th ranked offense stifled.

With that being said, here are this week's offensive grades.

Quarterbacks: C+

Coming off of two straight 300+ passing yard performances, Raider Nation was as high as ever on Derek Carr. But, the 2nd year signal caller was stifled by the Bears defense. Carr finished 20 of 33 for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns (he did have an interception, but that blame is going elsewhere), which aren't horrible numbers but it's the manner in which the incompletions came. Early on, it seemed like his receivers couldn't catch a cold but later in the game it was a different story. Carr had several overthrows in the second half that could have kept drives alive or at least given his guys chances to make plays. After two great starts by Carr, there were plenty experts and analysts expecting great things in the passing game again. That didn't transpire as Chicago's defense kept Oakland from making any big plays.

Running Backs: D-

The Raiders rushing game had shown signs of improvement the last two weeks, but they were held to just 70 yards and averaged 3.2 yards a carry in Chicago. Latavius Murray never seemed to get comfortable or rolling and, after an apparent shoulder injury, had two very costly turnovers. In the second quarter with the Raiders up 4, Murray bobbled a pass from Carr and it was intercepted by Pernell McPhee. Interceptions are usually blamed on the quarterback, but in this instance it goes to Murray. The pass was perfectly thrown, but Murray tried to use his chest to cradle the pass instead of using his hands. That set up one Chicago score. Then, in the third quarter Murray fumbled a pitch and the Bears turned that into more points. Coupled with his 49 yards on 16 carries, Murray had a day to forget.

Wide Receivers: C

If ever there was an omen for things to come it was the opening drive for the Raiders' offense. Except for Michael Crabtree and flashes from Amari Cooper, this unit was held quiet all game long. The top two wide receivers were the only ones from this group that made any catches. The Bears' defense made Cooper look like a rookie as he had 4 catches for 49 yards and a score, but it was the drops that will stick with the young receiver. It was a bad day for the passing game as a whole, but the receiving unit didn't quite show up for week 4.

Tight Ends: C-

This grade is simply for the fact that there was production from this unit. Mychal Rivera and Lee Smith combined for four catches and 26 yards. It isn't much, but it is more than the Raiders have usually gotten from this group. Smith and Rivera were safety valves and combined to only drop one ball between them. It was a step up in production and, hopefully, a sign that there'll be more from them.

Offensive Line: C

A week after keeping Carr clean and getting a rusher over 100 yards, the Raiders O-line looked like a shell of itself. The Bears' defense was able to bring pressure and force Carr into quick throws and they sacked him twice. There was very little push in the trenches, which kept Murray and the other RBs from getting a rhythm in the run game.

Offense overall: C

Coaching: C

All week long leading up to this game the coaches kept hammering home the point of not taking an opponent lightly. That didn't seem to be the case during the game either. Jack Del Rio and company were simply outworked and outplayed between the lines. John Fox put together a game plan for his Bears that proved to be a problem for his former Defensive Coordinator and, like it usually is, the teacher defeated the pupil.

There's still some glaring issues that need to be fixed with the Denver Broncos coming to Oakland next week and with the bye around the corner JDR and his staff need to come up with some solutions.

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