Approximately four weeks ago, the Oakland Raiders lost their quarterback Jason Campbell(notes) to a broken collarbone for the rest of the year. Now the Raiders will face a team who has just lost their quarterback; possibly for the rest of the season as well. Jay Cutler(notes) of the Chicago Bears broke the thumb on his throwing hand against the San Diego Chargers on November 20. Although things are looking down, the Bears are confident that Cutler will return this season. However, that won’t matter much in the November 26 matchup between the Raiders and Bears in Oakland, CA.

The Raiders replaced Campbell with proven veteran Carson Palmer(notes) four weeks ago, while the Bears will turn to their backup quarterback Caleb Hanie(notes). Hanie made an appearance last year in the NFC Championship game and nearly brought the Bears back for a win over the Green Bay Packers – who went on to win the Super Bowl. On November 26, Hanie will make his first start of the 2011 season in place of Cutler, and to be honest, I don’t think the Bears will miss Cutler all that much.

The Raiders will look to disrupt Hanie, much the same way the Kansas City Chiefs disrupted both Kyle Boller(notes) and Carson Palmer in their first game after Campbell’s injury. Let’s look at how these two teams matchup:

Offense

As far as the Bears’ offensive strengths go, there are two key components to that equation; ‘Matt’ and ‘Forte’. Matt Forte(notes) is the most versatile and complete running back in the NFL right now. And when I say complete, I mean he can run the ball and catch the ball and be equally as explosive. The Raiders have an explosive back of their own; Michael Bush(notes). Bush is playing in place of injured running back Darren McFadden(notes) who will miss yet another game with a strained foot. Bush has been having huge games as of late but it’s the veteran quarterback that gets his team the edge here.

Edge: Raiders

Defense

The main difference between these two teams on defense is pretty simple. The Bears give up just over 100-yards rushing per game, while the Raiders give up just over 130 yards. Both running backs will look to have a big game, but I think the Bears will stop Michael Bush before the Raiders stop Matt Forte.

Edge: Bears

Special Teams

Any other week, I would say the Raiders’ kicking squad of Sebastian Jankiowski and Shane Lechler(notes) give them the edge automatically. However, everyone knows the Bears’ return team features a human highlight reel in the form of Devin Hester(notes). To avoid the wrath that is Hester – who is averaging 21.2 yards per punt return – Lechler will just have to kick it away from him. I just hope Shane Lechler isn’t too proud to kick it out of the reach of Hester. As for Janikowski, he can kick touchbacks all day, probably even from the opposite end zone if he had to. If the Raiders can keep the ball out of Hester’s hands, they hold the advantage; otherwise, I give it to the Bears.

Edge: ????

Prediction: Bears 31- Raiders 24

David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where they post fresh content daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions – all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, “Not knowing any better”. Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.

You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp .

Sources:

NFL.com. Raiders vs. Bears Game Preview. NFL 2011.

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The 49ers Lose to the Ravens in High-Profile Match Up: Fan Breakdown

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Stanford Looks to Finish Season Strong Against Notre Dame: Fan Take

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If there’s any team that knows what the Chicago Bears are going through after losing starting quarterback Jay Cutler to a broken thumb, it might be the Oakland Raiders.

It was just last month that Oakland’s promising season hit a speed bump when starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone. The Raiders lost back-to-back games as they adjusted to new quarterback Carson Palmer before responding with wins the past two weeks as Palmer found his rhythm.

The Bears (7-3) are now in a similar predicament heading into Sunday’s game in Oakland against the Raiders (6-4), with backup Caleb Hanie set to get his first career start one week after Cutler broke his thumb trying to make a tackle on an interception return.

The emotions in Chicago are quite familiar to the Raiders. The initial shock followed by the understanding that the team must rally behind the new quarterback or otherwise the entire season would go to waste.

“The QB is the leader,” Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. “He’s the face of the team. When you lose a good one, and everything’s going like the Bears have had, winning five in a row, it’s a shock wave. But the dude they’ve got backing up played last year in the NFC championship game. He didn’t play all year last year and he came right in and picked it up. You can’t go in thinking there’s going to be a big drop-off. You just have to take care of business.”

While Hanie’s last start was for Colorado State against Wyoming four years ago and he has not even thrown a pass all season, his performance in last season’s NFC title game against Green Bay opened eyes in Oakland, and among his own teammates.

After Cutler went down with a knee injury and Todd Collins was ineffective in two series, Hanie came into the game with the Bears trailing the Packers 14-0 late in the third quarter. He led the Bears to a touchdown on his first drive, threw an interception that was returned for a score later in the fourth quarter and then threw a TD pass to cut the deficit to 21-14.

Hanie then drove Chicago into Green Bay territory before throwing an interception in the final minute to send the Packers to the Super Bowl. He finished that game 13 for 20 for 153 yards with one TD and two interceptions on a huge stage with no preparation.

The Bears hope that makes this week’s task a little bit easier.

“That helped him a lot. This week he knew he was the guy right away. He’s able to take all the reps in practice to really get himself ready to play the best possible game he can,” coach Lovie Smith said. “He’s not a rookie around here. Caleb’s been around here for a while. Our players all know him, they have confidence in him. Outside it’s a big story, but on the inside we’re just carrying on. It’s always next guy up.”

When the Raiders lost Campbell on Oct. 16 in a win against Cleveland, the next man up was Kyle Boller. But they quickly decided they needed an upgrade and immediately traded a 2012 first-round pick and conditional 2013 second-rounder to Cincinnati for Palmer.

The risk did not pay off immediately. Boller and Palmer combined to throw six interceptions as Oakland lost its first game without Palmer to Kansas City. Palmer threw three more interceptions the following game in a loss to Denver.

But he has bounced back the past two games, going 31 for 43 for 463 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 120.6 as the Raiders have won two straight to take over first place in the AFC West.

“That’s why I went and got the guy,” coach Hue Jackson said. “He’s a tremendous football player. He’s growing each and every day. The sky’s the limit. What he has to do is just keep working. It’s a testament to him. All of a sudden you’ve played four games now and your body, you go from the couch to playing, and at some point in time you’re looking for him to slow down and hit a wall, but not this guy. He keeps working and pushes right through it and on he goes.”

The Bears are putting their hopes in Hanie’s hands until Cutler returns, possibly before the end of the regular season. They reportedly made a waiver claim on Kyle Orton, who was claimed by Kansas City, and signed Josh McCown as a backup.

But if they are going to make it back to the postseason, Hanie will be the quarterback to get them there. He has plenty of help with running back Matt Forte, who leads the league with 1,391 yards from scrimmage, big-play returner Devin Hester and a defense that is tied for second in takeaways with 23.

“We lost our leader for a few weeks here so we’ve got to pick it up a little bit and everyone’s got to try and do more if that’s even possible,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “It’s hard to do that in the NFL and we’ve just got to try and find a way to make some more plays.”

OAKLAND, Calif. – If there’s any team that knows what the Chicago Bears are going through after losing starting quarterback Jay Cutler to a broken thumb, it might be the Oakland Raiders.

It was just last month that Oakland’s promising season hit a speed bump when starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone. The Raiders lost back-to-back games as they adjusted to new quarterback Carson Palmer before responding with wins the past two weeks as Palmer found his rhythm.

The Bears (7-3) are now in a similar predicament heading into Sunday’s game in Oakland against the Raiders (6-4), with backup Caleb Hanie set to get his first career start one week after Cutler broke his thumb trying to make a tackle on an interception return.

The emotions in Chicago are quite familiar to the Raiders. The initial shock followed by the understanding that the team must rally behind the new quarterback or otherwise the entire season would go to waste.

“The QB is the leader,” Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. “He’s the face of the team. When you lose a good one, and everything’s going like the Bears have had, winning five in a row, it’s a shock wave. But the dude they’ve got backing up played last year in the NFC championship game. He didn’t play all year last year and he came right in and picked it up. You can’t go in thinking there’s going to be a big drop-off. You just have to take care of business.”

While Hanie’s last start was for Colorado State against Wyoming four years ago and he has not even thrown a pass all season, his performance in last season’s NFC title game against Green Bay opened eyes in Oakland, and among his own teammates.

After Cutler went down with a knee injury and Todd Collins was ineffective in two series, Hanie came into the game with the Bears trailing the Packers 14-0 late in the third quarter. He led the Bears to a touchdown on his first drive, threw an interception that was returned for a score later in the fourth quarter and then threw a TD pass to cut the deficit to 21-14.

Hanie then drove Chicago into Green Bay territory before throwing an interception in the final minute to send the Packers to the Super Bowl. He finished that game 13 for 20 for 153 yards with one TD and two interceptions on a huge stage with no preparation.

The Bears hope that makes this week’s task a little bit easier.

“That helped him a lot. This week he knew he was the guy right away. He’s able to take all the reps in practice to really get himself ready to play the best possible game he can,” coach Lovie Smith said. “He’s not a rookie around here. Caleb’s been around here for a while. Our players all know him, they have confidence in him. Outside it’s a big story, but on the inside we’re just carrying on. It’s always next guy up.”

When the Raiders lost Campbell on Oct. 16 in a win against Cleveland, the next man up was Kyle Boller. But they quickly decided they needed an upgrade and immediately traded a 2012 first-round pick and conditional 2013 second-rounder to Cincinnati for Palmer.

The risk did not pay off immediately. Boller and Palmer combined to throw six interceptions as Oakland lost its first game without Palmer to Kansas City. Palmer threw three more interceptions the following game in a loss to Denver.

But he has bounced back the past two games, going 31 for 43 for 463 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 120.6 as the Raiders have won two straight to take over first place in the AFC West.

“That’s why I went and got the guy,” coach Hue Jackson said. “He’s a tremendous football player. He’s growing each and every day. The sky’s the limit. What he has to do is just keep working. It’s a testament to him. All of a sudden you’ve played four games now and your body, you go from the couch to playing, and at some point in time you’re looking for him to slow down and hit a wall, but not this guy. He keeps working and pushes right through it and on he goes.”

The Bears are putting their hopes in Hanie’s hands until Cutler returns, possibly before the end of the regular season. They reportedly made a waiver claim on Kyle Orton, who was claimed by Kansas City, and signed Josh McCown as a backup.

But if they are going to make it back to the post-season, Hanie will be the quarterback to get them there. He has plenty of help with running back Matt Forte, who leads the league with 1,391 yards from scrimmage, big-play returner Devin Hester and a defence that is tied for second in takeaways with 23.

“We lost our leader for a few weeks here so we’ve got to pick it up a little bit and everyone’s got to try and do more if that’s even possible,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “It’s hard to do that in the NFL and we’ve just got to try and find a way to make some more plays.”