Three Takeaways from Bears' road win over Raiders

Odunze is turning into a TD machine for the Bears (Stephen Sylvanie - USA Today Sports)

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 15 hours ago

It didn't come easy, but a win is a win in the NFL, and the Bears will take any win they can get. This was a game the Bears would've lost last season, as they not only struggled to find the end zone until the second half but also trailed late in the game.

You also had a special teams situation with the game on the line.

More often than not, it's the Bears finding a way to blow the game with special teams. Still, in this case it was the special teams that saved the Bears with Josh Blackwell blocking a would be game winning field goal from Daniel Carleson to preserve the Bears 25-24 win.

We may not be at that conversation yet, but Ben Johnson is starting to get through to his guys, and if that is the case, this Bears team isn't the Bears of old anymore. With the Bye week on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how they approach this break and emerge on the other side, hoping this momentum continues.

Here are some takeaways from Sunday's big win:

Odunze is a playmaker

Everyone knew that when the Bears drafted Rome Odunze No.9 overall in the 2024 NFL draft, he had the potential to be the Bears' No. 1 option of the future. What no one anticipated was for him to become Caleb Williams' favorite target by the end of the season last year, to the point where he has emerged as the Bears' No. 1 wide receiver this season.

Through four games, Odunze is well on his way to a 1000-yard season, which would be an accomplishment in itself. Not to mention with his second-half touchdown reception on Sunday, Odunze has now caught a touchdown pass in all four games this season and has five touchdown receptions for the year. That ranks him near the top of the league in touchdown receptions, and that alone is a massive win for the Bears as they continue to round their offense into form.

Ashton Jeanty coming out party

Leave it to the Bears to turn what looked to be a rocky start to a rookie season, and suddenly turn it into a productive start. That is what Ashton Jeanty saw on Sunday as the Raiders' No. 1 overall selection in this year's draft had a day to remember, as this was his coming-out party.

After struggling to do much of anything on the ground through three weeks, Jeanty broke out in a big way, topping the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, which was helped by a 66-yard touchdown run. He also averaged a season-high 6.6 YPC, which was very similar to his college production.

Jeanty also came away with a pair of touchdown receptions to finish with three total touchdowns as he was the Raiders' entire offense when it comes to the scoring side of things. These are the breakout games Jeanty was used to having at Boise State and were a big reason why he was rated as the top running back in this year's class.

Now that he has demonstrated his capabilities, it will be interesting to see how he builds upon that performance as he holds the keys to taking the Raiders' offense to the next level.

Trust your defense

While there were times when the Bears' defense was getting gashed on the field, there were also times when the classic Dennis Allen style of play showed up, and that is the defense the Bears need to have the rest of the way. Sure, watching Jeanty rush for more than 100 yards was a concern, but anytime you can force four turnovers in a game, you have to like what you see.

That is exactly what the Bears did as they forced a Jeanty fumble in the first quarter while adding three interceptions along the way. Two of those picks came from Kevin Byard, who now has three interceptions over his last two games. This was something that plagued the Bears last season, as they couldn't consistently force turnovers, which ultimately hurt them.

When they do force turnovers, especially at the level they did on Sunday, their offense is good enough to win most games. No one is expecting four turnovers a game from here on out, but even if the bend, but not break style that Allen plays can come away with one or two turnovers per game on average, things are going to be looking up for this team as they can take the pressure off Williams and the offense.