LONDON — Raiders coach Jon Gruden got the outcome of his dreams in his first game against Khalil Mack and the Bears.
Not only did the Raiders mostly minimize Mack’s influence in their 24-21 victory Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but running back Josh Jacobs — the rookie Gruden drafted with one of the picks he got from the Bears in the Mack trade — was the star of the show.
Jacobs was the most productive player on the field, piling up 123 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries and adding three catches for 20 yards.
‘‘He proved a lot tonight,’’ Gruden said. ‘‘He made some great runs.’’
The Bears were coming off a stellar run-stopping performance the previous week against the Vikings, when they shut down NFL rushing leader Dalvin Cook, and should’ve gotten a boost with the return of linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive lineman Akiem Hicks.
Hicks, however, didn’t last long. Already playing through a knee injury, he hurt his left elbow trying to make a tackle when Mack inadvertently went helmet-first into his arm.
‘‘Not having Akiem, I’m sure, hurt us,’’ cornerback Prince Amukamara said. ‘‘But with the guys we had, we were still capable of stopping [Jacobs].’’
Mack made a brilliant play to recover a wayward pitch by Raiders quarterback Derek Carr in the third quarter, but he played a relatively quiet game overall. He finished with three tackles and one quarterback hit.
Mack was also quiet after the game, zipping out of the locker room without taking questions after the loss to his former team.
The Raiders traded him to the Bears last year for two first-round picks. Some later-round selections changed hands, too, but those first-rounders in 2019 and 2020 were the jackpot Gruden coveted. He used the first one to take Jacobs at No. 24 overall.
Jacobs powered the Raiders to 169 yards rushing (4.3 per carry), which is the most by any Bears opponent since Mack’s arrival. The Bears entered the game as the No. 3 run defense in the NFL at 61.5 yards per game.
‘‘He had a chip on his shoulder tonight, coming in and knowing the type of defense he was going up against,’’ said safety Eddie Jackson, a teammate of Jacobs’ at Alabama. ‘‘He had a good game. You want to have a mindset where you hold a team to 40 yards [rushing] every week, but you’ve gotta understand it’s the NFL. It’s not gonna happen.’’
