3 quick takeaways from Raiders-Bears game

Three takeaways from the Raiders’ 20-9 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

1. Can’t get going

The Raiders actually took the game’s first lead at 3-0, bucking a trend of quickly falling behind. For the moment at least.

They never built on the lead and couldn’t get the offense going on a day in which the Raiders’ defense did enough to give the offense a chance.

The numbers underscored how ugly it was for the Raiders, who only gained 259 yards. Derek Carr was never completely in rhythm in completing 22 of 35 passes for 206 yards. The running game again was nearly nonexistent in totaling 71 yards.

And when the Raiders had the chance to make key plays, they failed, whether it was Josh Jacobs not picking up a fourth-and-1 or Bryan Edwards dropping a deep pass on third-and-2.

2. Killer mistakes

Chicago’s first touchdown drive was aided by critical Raiders mistakes.

The first was a roughing-the-passer call on Yannick Ngakoue that bailed out the Bears who were backed up in their own territory. Then in the red zone, the Raiders were hit with a roughing call on Maxx Crosby and a hands to the face penalty on Johnathan Abram.

That paved the way for a Bears touchdown and a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Raiders had six penalties for 48 yards at that point.

3. Mack is back in town

Khalil Mack played as if he had a point to prove, making his presence known early and sparking some on-field conversation between him and Carr.

The Raiders traded Mack in 2018 as part of a rebuild, a move that was controversial at the time. And, well, is still that.

Mack showed the Raiders what they were missing with eight tackles, including a sack. He also sacked Carr on a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter that would have brought the Raiders to within a field goal.

There’s a debate on which team won the trade, but Mack clearly won the day.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.