Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears kick off NFL London games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Watch live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm on Sunday; kick-off is at 6pm
Sunday 6 October 2019 16:30, UK
Sunday's Week Five games begin with the Chicago Bears taking on the Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, exclusively live on Sky Sports Action. Here is what to expect...
Seasons so far
After losing the season opener at home to Green Bay, the Bears (3-1) have managed three straight wins - over the Broncos, Redskins and Vikings - with the first two coming on the road.
Like last year, they've impressed on the defensive side of the ball and rank fifth in yards allowed and second in points allowed. However, their offensive struggles have been plain to see. Chicago have only managed 273.5 yards per game (30th) and 16.5 points per game (28th).
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky suffered a shoulder injury in last week's win over Minnesota, and veteran backup Chase Daniel will start on Sunday after managing 195 yards, one touchdown and a 101.4 passer rating in relief.
They stayed in the headline all summer amid featuring on Hard Knocks and the drama surrounding Antonio Brown, but the Raiders (2-2) kept focused and kicked off their season with a division win over the Broncos.
Two big defeats to Kansas City and Minnesota could have sent them spiralling, but they bounced back with an important road win against the Colts in Week Four.
Players to watch
The one man you should keep your eyes on all game is Bears outside linebacker - and former Raider - Khalil Mack. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in Oakland in 2016 before being shipped to Chicago at the start of last season. Mack has recorded at least 10.5 sacks in four straight seasons, and is already at 4.5 for this campaign.
Since his trade, he has produced better numbers than the entire Raiders team in a number of key categories and he's had more forced fumbles (10-8) and multi-sack games (4-3) than Oakland since his move. His four forced fumbles this season are more than 16 teams have managed all season. Simply put, Mack is a one-man wrecking crew.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden admitted part of what makes the Bears so special is that if an offense focuses on Mack, players like Leonard Floyd on the other side can be just as disruptive. Chicago have defensive playmakers on every level, so we can look forward to them swarming to the ball.
Offensively for Chicago, Chase Daniel will be in the spotlight. Trubisky has been disappointing, so can the 32-year-old career backup - who has only made four starts in 10 seasons - provide a spark? Receiver Allen Robinson and running back Tarik Cohen are two of his most capable weapons who could create big plays.
In two appearances in London, Derek Carr has experienced two losses, seven sacks, a leg injury and an arm injury. In his rookie campaign, the Raiders were beaten 38-14 by the Dolphins, and they were steamrolled by Seattle 27-3 last season.
However, in his second season under Gruden, he is heading into this game playing above his career average in completion percentage (72.1), TD percentage (4.7) and passer rating (96.7).
Rookie runner Josh Jacobs has been heavily involved for the Raiders, piling up the most rushing yards (307) through the first four games by a rookie in franchise history, while fifth-year tight end Darren Waller has broken out in a big way.
Waller is third in the league with 33 catches this season, which are tied most over by a tight end through the first four games of the season.
Key stats
- The Raiders sack leader since 2018 is Maurice Hurst (4.0 sacks in 17 games). Mack has 17.0 sacks in 18 games in that span
- Mack has 10 forced fumbles in 18 games with the Bears - Had 9 forced fumbles in 64 games with the Raiders
- The 16.5 PPG scored by the Bears is the fewest by any team with a winning record this season
- Bears are 14-1 when holding their opponent to 20 points or fewer since 2018
- The Raiders have not won consecutive games away from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum since 2016
- Carr is one of just five QBs with a 70+ completion percentage this season
- The winners of each London game in the past two seasons has made the playoffs - 2018: Seahawks, Chargers, Eagles - 2017: Jaguars, Saints, Rams, Vikings
