Three days after their impressive win over the Vikings at Soldier Field, the Bears return to the practice field Wednesday to continue preparing for Sunday's game against the Raiders in London.
The contest will be the first NFL game played at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which opened in April in north London. The stadium is home to the Tottenham Hotspur, a soccer team in the English Premier League.
The Bears (3-1) have won three straight games following a season-opening loss to the Packers and are tied with Green Bay (3-1) for first place in the NFC North.
In last Sunday's 16-6 victory over the Vikings, the Bears defense held Minnesota scoreless for the first 57 minutes, recorded six sacks and limited NFL leading rusher Dalvin Cook to 35 yards on 14 carries.
Offensively, backup quarterback Chase Daniel entered the game on the Bears' first possession after Mitchell Trubisky exited with a left-shoulder injury and completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards with one touchdown and a 101.4 passer rating.
The Raiders (2-2) opened the season with a 24-16 win over the Broncos, followed with back-to-back losses to the Chiefs 28-10 and Vikings 34-14, and then defeated the Colts 31-24 last Sunday.
Storyline of the week
This week's focus normally would be on Bears All-Pro outside linebacker Khalil Mack facing the team that traded him last September. But that storyline could be overshadowed by others involving the game status of some key Bears starters.
Trubisky (shoulder), guard Kyle Long (hip), receiver Taylor Gabriel (concussion) and defensive linemen Akiem Hicks (knee) and Bilal Nichols (hand) all missed the Vikings game with injuries. The situation involving Roquan Smith will also be closely monitored. The second-year pro was deactivated last Sunday due to an undisclosed personal issue that the Bears have declined to shed any light on.
Series history
The series is tied 7-7 and the Bears have won three of last four. The Bears won the last meeting 22-20 on Oct. 4, 2015 at Soldier Field. Robbie Gould's 49-yard field goal with :02 to play gave the Bears the victory in a game that featured six lead changes. The Bears erased deficits of 14-6, 17-16 and 20-19 in the contest.
Numbers game
The Bears enter Week 5 ranked 30th on offense in the NFL (25th rushing and 29th passing) and 5th on defense (3rd against the run and 12th versus the pass). The Raiders rank 21st on offense (9th rushing and 26th passing) and 22nd on defense (tied for 16th against the run and 27th versus the pass).
Talk show
Coach Matt Nagy will address the media Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Trubisky will speak Wednesday, as will offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano and special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor.
