(670 The Score) In Las Vegas, it's always better to be lucky than good.
Take the Bears' breathtaking 25-24 victory over the Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, for example.
Sure, Bears defensive back Josh Blackwell required great skill, quickness and timing to block Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson's 54-yard last-second, go-ahead field-goal attempt, but not a soul in Chicago should feel anything but fortunate about the outcome.
You can exhale now. And relax, it's not as bad as it looked for 58 minutes. Every NFL team needs a little luck, and this time, finally, the Bears made their own.
Too often lately, it's been the other way around.
“Nobody touched me,” said Blackwell, who added postgame that a tip from Bears long snapper Scott Daly had him looking for the ball to move slightly before the snap. "My jump was just too good.”
When it was all over and Carlson's kick ricocheted aimlessly around the field, ever-confident head coach Ben Johnson pumped a fist on the sideline and wore a satisfied look like he knew the Bears had it all along.
He couldn't have possibly known it would end like this.
All day, Johnson's offense struggled mightily against the Raiders.
The Bears couldn't block Raiders game-wrecker Maxx Crosby, who maximized the mismatch and was as disruptive as Johnson suggested he would be with three tackles for loss, three passes defended and an interception.
"So far the best player I've ever played against in my career,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams called Crosby.
As a result, the offense failed to take advantage of ideal field position and convert turnovers into touchdowns. The Bears couldn't run the ball – they had two rushing yards at halftime. The overhyped, overpaid offensive line couldn't protect the quarterback. Cole Kmet dropped a key pass. They tried trick plays – please retire the Stumblebum – and ordinary plays, yet nothing worked. Nothing was smooth about the operation. They had eight penalties despite a Bears-heavy crowd that gave the Raiders a home-field disadvantage.
Frankly, the offense did nothing until late in the fourth quarter to deserve to win.
"It was easy to get frustrated,” Johnson acknowledged. "But we don't panic. That's not who we are.”
Even when the offense finally clicked late and staged a go-ahead, 11-play, 69-yard touchdown drive, the irony – or is it cruelty? – is that the Bears actually scored too fast when D'Andre Swift crossed the goal line on a two-yard scoring run with 1:34 left.
That left the Raiders plenty of time on clock, which read 1:27 after a Bears kicking coverage breakdown allowed a 38-yard return by Dylan Laube to the Raiders’ 42-yard line.
Yet the Bears defense – surprisingly? – came up with the stop to force Carlson's field-goal attempt.
Dennis Allen's defense created four turnovers in the form of three interceptions and a fumble recovery. But they more accurately could be described as giveaways because Raiders quarterback Geno Smith threw the ball around so charitably, twice never seeing Bears free safety Kevin Byard and once forcing a pass that cornerback Tyrique Stevenson went airborne to intercept. Stevenson stood out, playing physically and finding the football the way a player with growing confidence can.
And while the Bears can feel good about the way their secondary played, it's hard to heap too much praise on a unit that gave up 240 rushing yards, including 138 on 21 carries by rookie Ashton Jeanty, who rarely went down on the first tackling attempt while living up to the hype provided by Johnson himself. Even when Jeanty ran away from the Bears on a 64-yard touchdown in the second quarter, he easily ran through Byard's last tackle attempt.
Linebacker Tremaine Edwards knows how that feels too.
If it's true that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, maybe the Bears can just forget about how lousy their defensive line was at times?
I was going to just say Montez Sweat, but there’s scant evidence the Bears edge rusher actually showed up.
Smith completed 14 of 21 for 117 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions but wasn't sacked. This was a quarterback who had been sacked 12 times in 101 previous dropbacks through three games, but the Bears barely touched him.
Meanwhile, despite the offensive struggles, the Bears saw Williams take another step forward – in a different way than he did against the Cowboys a week prior. It was a step more awkward than elegant, but it was one in the right direction. If talent carried Williams against the Cowboys, it was his toughness that stood out against the Raiders. He ran around in the pocket and never lost belief, and he threw the 27-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze with conviction. And when Williams stood in the huddle with the Bears down 24-19 with about six minutes left in the game, he said what any good leader says in that situation.
"I looked everyone in the eye and said, 'This is the moment … This is where we go win the game,’” Williams told reporters.
Exactly 11 plays and 69 yards later, the Bears did just that. They came through in the clutch, which is becoming a Caleb Williams characteristic.
That's a major development and something every franchise quarterback needs.
And as much as there was for coaches and fans and media to pick apart, a win like this one potentially means more than a blowout would. Coaches call victories like these character wins. They reveal plenty about players and teams, traits that can be harder to detect in easy wins or blowout losses.
On Sunday, they stamped the Bears a resilient bunch, full of flaws that Johnson can't wait to address during a well-timed bye week. He can start with a thorough offensive line review to find a better starting five and a defensive front that figures out how to get to the quarterback.
But the good news is Johnson coaches a team even more eager to get on with the season.
And, let's face it, the difference in a new coach starting 1-3 and 2-2 is bigger than the smile on his quarterback's face.
"It's a culture builder for us,” Williams said.
Indeed, it can be.
Have you ever seen a bunch of guys leave Vegas any happier about breaking even?
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-10 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on X @DavidHaugh.