Oakland’s 97-yard drive good for win in London

LONDON» All that pregame talk about Khalil Mack and the Monsters of the Midway defense only served as motivation for the Oakland Raiders.

A dominant performance from the offensive line, a breakthrough game from a rookie running back and the ability to bounce back from a thirdquarter meltdown made Oakland’s week-long stay in London a success.

Josh Jacobs scored his second touchdown of the game with a leap from the 2-yard line with 1:57 to play, capping a 97-yard drive that helped the Raiders rally after blowing a 17-point lead to beat the Chicago Bears 24-21 on Sunday night.

“We were up for the challenge,” Jacobs said. “All week that’s all we heard was how good their defense was and they are a great defense. But we wanted to prove we’re a good offense.”

They did that with an impressive drive that was part of a roller-coaster game that delighted the sellout crowd in London. The Raiders (3-2) broke out to a 17-0 halftime lead only to fall behind the Bears (3-2) in a mistake-filled third quarter.

Then Oakland fumbled at the goal line when going in for the go-ahead score, needed a replay review to overturn a fumble on a successful fake punt on the game-winning drive and then intercepted Chicago backup Chase Daniel with 1:14 to go to seal the victory.

“We know everyone counted us out,” quarterback Derek Carr said. “We knew no one would pick us to win this football game. And we hadn’t really proven anything for them to pick us, right? But it just shows you the grit and determination of our young guys.”