Blocked!: Raiders suffer crushing loss to Bears despite Jeanty’s heroics

Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty finally came alive for the Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

The team’s beleaguered offensive line shined in run blocking and pass protection. Defensive end Maxx Crosby played one of the best games of his stellar NFL career.

That should have added up to an easy win for the Raiders against the Bears. Instead, it became a gut-wrenching 25-24 loss thanks to four turnovers — including three interceptions from quarterback Geno Smith — and a blocked 54-yard field-goal attempt by kicker Daniel Carlson with 33 seconds remaining.

The Raiders (1-3) had their chances against Chicago (2-2). But their mistakes added up. Smith, who has an NFL-leading seven interceptions, was beside himself after the loss.

“I owe it to my teammates to go out there and play better,” Smith said. “Guys fought their tails off. Guys deserved to get this win, and I let those guys down.”

The Raiders lost despite an impressive performance from Jeanty, who finished with 138 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. The No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft added two catches for 17 yards and two touchdowns.

Crosby had four tackles and an interception to lead the defense.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, completed 22 of his 37 passes for 212 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chicago wide receiver Rome Odunze, a Bishop Gorman alum, had a touchdown in the third quarter.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Smith struggles

The Raiders traded a third-round pick to the Seahawks to acquire Smith this offseason in the hopes he could be a stabilizing force under center.

He has been anything but in the team’s first two home games.

The 34-year-old completed 14 of his 21 passes for 117 yards with two touchdowns Sunday. All three of his interceptions came on forced throws. The Bears converted his miscues into 13 points.

“You can’t expect to turn the ball over like that and win,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “It doesn’t happen.”

Smith also missed a chance to put the game away in the fourth quarter. He threw a low ball to rookie wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. on third-and-goal from the 11-yard line and the pass fell incomplete. The Raiders had to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Carlson that put them up 24-19 with 6:45 remaining.

The Bears scored the winning touchdown their next possession.

“It’s a lot of things I’m going to have to fix within myself. That’s the reality. I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” said Smith, who also threw three interceptions in the Raiders’ home opener against the Chargers in Week 2. “I gotta be a lot better. I am a lot better, but it hasn’t shown up. The guy I’m supposed to be hasn’t shown up yet.”

2. Jeanty breaks out

The Raiders selected Jeanty, last year’s Heisman Trophy runner-up at Boise State, with games like Sunday in mind.

The 21-year-old looked sensational while setting a career high in rushing yards. His 64-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that put his team up 14-6 was electric. His one blemish was a fumble in the first quarter when he was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 from the Raiders’ 35-yard line.

Jeanty was much more concerned with the outcome of the game than his individual numbers, however.

“To me it’s all about winning, not personal performance,” Jeanty said.

The team’s offensive line, which has had some rough moments early this season, deserves credit for paving the way for Jeanty and the rest of the team’s backfield. Backup running back Raheem Mostert ran for 62 yards on four carries in his first game of the season after being a healthy scratch for three weeks. The Raiders finished with 240 rushing yards on 31 carries as a team.

“To see Ashton get cooking like that, you could see how special he is,” Carroll said. “They can’t tackle him in the open field. He makes it look easy, which really great players do.”

3. Crosby crushes Bears

Crosby did all he could to give the Raiders the win. He had an interception, three tackles for loss and two pass deflections in the first half alone.

His energy was infectious. The Raiders defense started three first-half drives inside their own 25-yard line after a turnover from the offense, but held the Bears to a field goal all three times.

Crosby added another pass deflection in the fourth quarter when Chicago had a second-and-5 from the Raiders’ 14-yard line. A poor snap the next play caused the Bears to lose 19 yards. They settled for a field goal again to cut their deficit to 21-19 with 11:38 left.

“My game is I wanna go out there and wreck everything,” Crosby said. “I feel like I do that at a very, very high level.”

All of Crosby’s hard work went unrewarded thanks to four turnovers from the offense.

“It wasn’t enough today. I’ve got to do more,” Crosby said. “And we’ve got to do more as a team.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.