Raiders vs. Bears: Geno’s Picks, Jeanty & Crosby Shine

Breaking down Geno’s interceptions, Jeanty & Crosby’s big nights, and where the game truly turned.

Author

Jesse Merrick
September 29, 2025

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The guys deserved to get this win, and I let those guys down. There's a lot of things I'm going to have to fix within myself, and that's the reality. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I got to be a lot better, and I am a lot better, but it hasn't showed up. The guy that I'm supposed to be hasn't showed up yet. I'll take pride in fixing this stuff."

— Geno Smith, Raiders quarterback, on his three-interception game vs. the Bears

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

In today’s newsletter, we dig into Geno Smith’s rough night against the Bears and break down what really went wrong with those interceptions. I also share what Ashton Jeanty and Maxx Crosby had to say after their monster performances, and pinpoint the exact moment the game turned — beyond just the turnovers.

POSTGAME REACTION PODCAST FROM ALLEGIANT STADIUM

The Raiders couldn’t overcome Geno Smith’s three interceptions in a tough loss to the Bears, and I break down exactly how it all went down in our latest postgame podcast. From Ashton Jeanty and Maxx Crosby’s standout performances to why Raheem Mostert deserves a bigger role on gameday, we dig into the biggest takeaways from Sunday. Plus, I look ahead to what’s next as the Raiders prepare for the Colts in Week 4. Hit play above for the full breakdown.

GENO’S THREE PICKS DOOM THE RAIDERS

You usually can’t put the game on just one player, but in this case, there’s no denying that Geno Smith’s three interceptions cost the Raiders the game. His three picks led to 13 Bears points and gave them drives that started in plus territory every time. Geno now has seven interceptions on the year, good for the league lead in a category no quarterback wants any part of. In fact, two of those interceptions looked to be the same play, and Geno just got fooled.

“I know Geno (Smith) is sick. The two plays that they pick on, the first two were just, he just didn't see it, got fooled by the coverage. The other one on the cross route was a play we throw all the time, and we rip in there. I don't know if the ball was behind the receiver or not; I couldn't tell from my vantage point. The guy makes a heck of a play too, again, unfortunately.”

— Pete Carroll, Raiders head coach

Geno dove a little deeper into the turnovers, noting they made some good plays, but he just can’t keep putting the ball in harm’s way.

"The first two, I thought Kevin (Byard III) made great plays. They were playing Tampa 2; he's the Tampa safety player. He's carrying the vertical, as soon as I cut the ball loose, he stops, he dives, and catches one. The other one kind of just hit him right in the chest. I'm putting this on myself, but sometimes they make great plays. The last one was just a terrible throw. And the reality is, again, that I'm better than that, and I know that. Like I said, I don't know what the outside is going to say, I really don't care, but internally, I hold myself to a very high standard, and right now I haven't met that standard. There's a lot of hard work that needs to be done, and that's all I can focus on is making this stuff right."

— Geno Smith, Raiders quarterback

It’s not rocket science; the Raiders are playing well enough on defense to win games. If he can’t clean it up on offense, it’s going to be a long season.

DESPITE THE TURNOVERS, THEY HAD A SHOT

Four turnovers and a blocked kick. You’re not going to overcome that very often, but the Raiders did still have a shot to do so. For me, the game turned when Dont’e Thornton dropped that ball on 3rd-and-11 from eleven yards out with 6:53 to play. The placement wasn’t the greatest. Geno should have put that on Dont’e’s chest, and he likely scores there. That would have put the Raiders up nine points, and I think at that point, the way the defense had been playing, that would have been enough to win the game. Despite the turnovers, they were still in it, and that ended up costing them the game. Instead, Chicago drove 69 yards on the ensuing possession and took the lead for good.

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

Raiders O-Line Debate: Why Meredith Over JPJ at Center


— Chip Kelly explains why the Raiders prefer Jordan Meredith at center — and what it means for JPJ.

Raiders Fall to Commanders: O-Line Struggles & Where the Defense Faltered


— Breaking down the Raiders’ O-Line struggles & defensive issues in the loss to Washington

WASTED PERFORMANCES

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

Maxx Crosby and Ashton Jeanty both balled out. They played so well, they could even be in line for Player of the Week honors on both sides of the ball.

After struggling the get the running game going through the first two weeks of the season, the Raiders took advantage of Chicago’s poor rushing defense, racking up 240 yards on the ground, the most rushing yards in a loss in franchise history.

Jeanty alone accounted for 138 of those rushing yards, breaking one for a 64-yard touchdown scamper where he forced three missed tackles. He even added a pair of receiving touchdowns in the mix, too. A great outing that likely quieted some critics, but he just wants to win.

“It feels alright, I guess. I mean, to me, it’s all about winning and not personal performance, team success. So, I’m more about winning and putting W’s on the stat sheet than my own personal stats.

— Ashton Jeanty, Raiders running back

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

Maxx also had himself a day. He had five total tackles, three TFLs, three passes defensed, one QB hit, and an interception; he nearly had two of them off one of his pass defenses. He’s been around for a lot of tough times with the Raiders and put up a lot of crooked stat lines during those times, but he just wants to walk off the field a winner.

“My game is, I want to go out there and wreck everything. I feel like I do that at a very, very high level, and it wasn’t enough today, I gotta do more…We just gotta find ways to win games. That’s what I’ve been trying to do for seven years, that’s all that matters to me. That’s all we gotta do, we gotta make it easier on ourselves. We gotta execute when it matters most and just close out games, that’s it."

— Maxx Crosby, Raiders defensive end

WHAT’S NEXT?

Pete will be available this afternoon at 11 a.m., so keep an eye out for our coverage on Twitter (X) for his take on the game after getting a chance to review the film.

Programming note: We’re switching up the cadence of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast. We usually drop episodes on Tuesdays and Thursday’s but we’re going to switch to a Wednesday and Friday morning drop at 10 a.m. from now on. The Wednesday podcast will now offer more insight after I’ve had a shot to review the games, and it will also help the beat writers and former players we bring on from the opponent to have a more informed take on the matchup. Moving the second episode of the week to Friday lets us dive into more of the news of the week and frame it in a way that will provide more analysis to you guys as to how it will impact the weekend, too. Look for those episodes to drop on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 10 a.m. PST going forward for the rest of the season.

Catch ya next time,

Silver & Black Sports Network is an independent media outlet. We are not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by the Las Vegas Raiders or the NFL.

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