After beating the Cowboys 31-14 last weekend at Soldier Field, the Bears (1-2) will look to win back-to-back games Sunday when they visit the Raiders (1-2) in Las Vegas. The Raiders have lost to the Chargers (20-9) and Commanders (41-24) after opening the season with a win over the Patriots (20-13).

When the Bears have the ball

Caleb Williams will attempt to build on an excellent performance versus Dallas that earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The second-year quarterback posted a career-high 142.6 passer rating and matched a career high with four touchdown passes, including a 65-yarder on a flea flicker to rookie receiver Luther Burden III, which was the longest completion of Williams' career and tied for the longest in the NFL this season.

The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft quarterbacked an offense against the Cowboys that did not commit a pre-snap penalty or turnover and did not allow a sack—a clean outing the unit hopes to replicate versus the Raiders.

"We have a whole different challenge here this week with their pass rush," said coach Ben Johnson. "They have some really good blitzers at the second level as well, whether it's their linebackers or their nickels that we have to account for. So it's going to take a whole group effort to have another day like that."

Williams' rapport with receiver Rome Odunze has been evident early in the season. His 127.9 passer rating when targeting Odunze is the fourth highest of any quarterback-receiver duo in the NFL. Odunze leads Bears receivers with 16 catches, 227 yards and four TDs, which are tied for the most in the NFL. The No. 9 pick in the 2024 draft joins former Bears teammate Keenan Allen of the Chargers as the only receivers in the league with a TD catch in each of the first three games.

The Bears are determined to get more production from their ground game Sunday. Last weekend they were limited to 87 yards on 29 carries with running backs D'Andre Swift (13-33) and Kyle Monangai (6-16) combining for 49 yards on 19 attempts, an average of 2.6 yards per carry.

"Our whole goal as a coaching staff is to get them up to the third level as much as we can to make these safeties and these corners tackle them one-on-one," Johnson said. "We haven't been doing that enough, so as a coaching staff we need a sound plan and then we need to go out there and we need to execute it just a little bit better than what we have been doing."

The Raiders defense is led by end Maxx Crosby, a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler who rarely, if ever, comes off the field. The seventh-year pro has played 100% of the Raiders defensive snaps so far this season after playing 96%, 95% and 97% the previous three years.

"In my opinion, he's a top five player in this league on defense and probably doesn't get the recognition he deserves," Johnson said. "He's all over the place, relentless, high motor and you've got to account for him and know where he's at every single snap or he'll get you. He wrecks drives, that's what he does."

Key matchup: Bears starting right tackle (TBD) vs. Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby

With right tackle Darnell Wright ruled out of Sunday's game with an elbow injury he sustained against the Cowboys, the Bears will face Crosby with a player making his first start at the position this season. First-year pro Theo Benedet replaced Wright versus Dallas. Rookie second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo is also a possibility, but regardless of who starts, the Bears no doubt will be ultra-focused on Crosby. Williams called the Raiders star "someone you need to be aware of on every single play and understand the type of player that he is and how much he can affect a game."

When the Raiders have the ball

The Bears defense is coming off its best performance of the season, holding the Cowboys to one touchdown while generating four takeaways, including interceptions on each of Dallas' final three possessions of the game—two by linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and one by safety Kevin Byard III.

The unit will face a Raiders offense that's quarterbacked by Geno Smith and leads the NFL with 15 pass plays of at least 20 yards. Las Vegas acquired the 13-year veteran during the offseason, reuniting him with first-year coach Pete Carroll, who helped revitalize Smith's career with the Seahawks.

Smith ranks second in the league with 831 passing yards, but his four interceptions and 12 sacks are both tied for the second most. After throwing three picks with no TDs in Week 2, he passed for three TDs with no interceptions last Sunday.

"Geno's played a lot of football," said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. "He's been in a lot of different systems. He's seen a lot of different things. He's playing at a high level. If you just line up in one thing every time and he knows exactly what you're doing, you're creating some tough matchups for yourself."

Receiver Jakobi Meyers leads the Raiders with 17 receptions for 228 yards, while receiver Tre Tucker has caught all four of Smith's TD passes this season. After setting an NFL rookie record with 112 receptions and being named first-team All-Pro last year, tight end Brock Bowers has 14 catches for 179 yards.

"They've got great team speed on that side; those guys are flying around," Johnson said. "Offensively, they've got playmakers at every position group. Quarterback is playing at a high level. I think they're the No. 1 team in explosive plays right now on offense, so we've got our work cut out for us."

The Bears will look to generate pressure on Smith while also containing rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. The No. 6 pick in the draft has rushed for 144 yards and one TD on 47 carries in his first three NFL games.

"He's a violent runner," Allen said. "He gets into the second, third level of the defense, he's seeking out contact. He runs extremely hard. He's an outstanding player. He's got great vision, really good feet, and he runs tough. We've got to get a lot of hats around the ball on him."

Key matchup: Bears defensive end Montez Sweat vs. Raiders right tackle DJ Glaze

Sweat registered his first sack of the season last Sunday versus Dallas and will look to add to that total against the Raiders. He will be opposed by Glaze, who has started all 20 games since being selected by Las Vegas in the second round of the 2024 draft. The Bears defense will play without key starters at all three levels in tackle Grady Jarrett (knee), linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (groin).

Fun facts

With a touchdown Sunday, Odunze would become the first player to score a TD in each of the Bears' first four games of a season since Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton in 1986.

The first NFL game in which Carroll coached against the Bears came on Sept. 19, 1985, in Minnesota when he was Vikings defensive backs coach. An injured Jim McMahon convinced coach Mike Ditka to put him into the game when the Bears trailed 17-9 midway through the third quarter. McMahon followed by throwing three TD passes on his first three possessions to rally his team to a 33-24 victory.

The Bears' last three road games against the Raiders were played in three different locations: Oakland in 2011, London in 2019 and Las Vegas in 2021.