Halas Intrigue Bears Report: Previewing Week 5 in London vs. Raiders

The good: It’s rare this time of year, but we finally get a chance to root for the Bears to hibernate in October. Though the Oakland Raiders arrived in London earlier in the week to adjust to the time change, the Bears practiced as usual Thursday morning, then boarded their flight in the evening. “As soon as you get [on the plane] you try to put yourself in a night-time kind of mode,” receiver Allen Robinson said. Here’s their in-flight game plan.

The bad: As their plane took off for the nearly eight-hour flight to London on Thursday evening, the Bears announced that receiver Taylor Gabriel (concussion) and offensive lineman Ted Larsen (knee) didn’t travel with the team and have been ruled out for Sunday’s game.

The ugly: OK, he’s not ugly, but Tarik Cohen believes he has a special talent that will go a long way in London. The Queen’s Guard are known for their bearskin helmets and emotionless faces. But Cohen thinks he has what it takes to make one of them move. Here’s his grand plan.

Let’s get to it ...

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Offense: Chase Set to ‘Let it Loose’

There’s a lot Bears coach Matt Nagy likes about Chase Daniel, whom he treats almost like a member of the coaching staff. He was solid last week. Can he do it again in London?

“My mindset going out there this week is just calm and cool, same as it was when I came in off the bench,” said Daniel, who will be filling in for starter Mitch Trubisky.

Did you know?

• Chase Daniel completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown filling in for Mitch Trubisky last Sunday.
• In four games, David Montgomery has rushed 58 times for 200 yards (3.4 yards per carry) and a touchdown, plus eight catches for 61 yards.
• RB Tarik Cohen has caught at least one pass from his running back position in all 36 career regular-season games, including 10 games with six or more..

Defense: Wait and See Attitude

One day after LB Roquan Smith declared he would play Sunday, coach Matt Nagy left the second-year linebacker’s status for Raiders game unclear. Same holds true for DL Akiem Hicks, who missed last Sunday’s game against the Vikings.

Did you know?

• LB Khalil Mack has 4.5 sacks this season and 53.5 since the start of 2015, the second-most in the NFL behind Arizona’s Chandler Jones (56.5).
• Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Kyle Fuller are both tied for the NFC lead with two interceptions each.
• Where the Bears rank in the NFL defensively: first in negative-yardage plays (-168 yards), tied for first in turnover margin (+6) and tied for first of opponent rushing plays of 20-plus yards (0).

Special Teams: Eddy Remains Ready

Kicker Eddy Pineiro remains motivated by his trade from Oakland — “The Raiders gave me up for pennies,” he said during training camp — but says he’s looking forward to seeing his former teammates Sunday.

Did you know?

• Eddy Pineiro is 8-for-9 on field goals this season and his 88.9 FG percentage ranks fourth-best in the NFC. He is 2-for-2 on kicks of 50-plus yards, both coming at Denver in Week 2.
• Pineiro was 3-for-3 on field goals from 25, 38 and 30 yards in the Week 4 victory over the Vikings.

What They’re Saying

As we said, the Raiders have already made themselves at home in Oakland. Here’s what the Bay Area News Group learned about the Raiders on Thursday.

They are still talking about the Khalil Mack trade in the Bay Area — and you can be sure it will be a hot topic Sunday. Here’s Jerry McDonald’s take in the East Bay Times. Bears fans might find his view interesting.

From Our Notebooks

• Our experts, some of them still emerging from jet lag, make their picks for the game in London.
• Sunday marks the first NFL game to be played at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (capacity 62,062) which opened in April. The game will mark the second time in franchise history of playing a game in London and the Bears’ third regular-season game played outside the United States. The last time the Bears traveled to London, they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-18 on Oct. 23, 2011, before a crowd of 76,981 at Wembley Stadium.
• A win Sunday would give the Bears their best season start (4-1) since a 7-1 start in 2012.
• In case you forget, here’s a look back at the Bears’ victory over the Vikings last Sunday.

On the Air: Noon Sunday

TV: FOX

• Dick Stockton (play-by-play)
• Mark Schlereth (analyst)
• Jen Hale (sideline)

RADIO: WBBM 780 AM, 105.9 FM

• Jeff Joniak (play-by-play)
• Tom Thayer (analyst)
• Mark Grote (sideline)

NATIONAL RADIO:

• Sirius/XM: 211
• SXM Streaming: 805.

What’s Next?

1. After the game in London, the Bears return home on Monday, then take a full week off during their 2019 bye week.
2. After the bye week, the Bears play host to the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 20 at Soldier Field (another 3:25 p.m. start).

Other Thoughts

On the Podcast

In the latest edition of Halas Intrigue, Roquan is in (maybe), Mitch is out and Mark has never tried coffee.

Listen here.

Also, got any questions for the Bears? Email us or tweet at @suntimes_sports and we’ll see if we can get them answered in one of our next newsletters.

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