Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Week 17 review: Studs and Duds

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby: Stud

Maxx Crosby has had a difficult sophomore season for the Las Vegas Raiders. The former fourth round pick was the Raiders’ best pass rusher in 2019, and he was supposed to get some major help in the form of Carl Nassib and the further development for Clelin Ferrell, but none of that materialized for different reasons.

Nassib may have been utilized incorrectly by former defensive coordinator Paul Guenther and was even a healthy scratch for a few games, and Ferrell had a solid season derailed by a positive COVID result. As a result, Crosby faced more double and triple teams in his second season but still responded with a very respectable sack total of seven in 16 games.

Sunday, Crosby had two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss, and his lone sack of the game came at a most opportune time when the Raiders needed a stop to get the ball back. It was a typical Crosby sack that came from the sheer effort, as he chased down Drew Lock in the flat and made an excellent tackle while avoiding a horse collar penalty.

Crosby even drew the holding penalty on the previous play which put Denver in that obvious passing situation.

The big man’s final contribution was the biggest of the game as he stuck a massive paw up to block Brandon McManus’s 63-yard field goal attempt, which would have given Denver the win. Anything is possible in that thin Denver air, so Crosby made sure to leave nothing to chance and swatted down the attempt to seal the victory for Las Vegas.

The Raiders’ priority this offseason should be to give Maxx Crosby some pass-rushing help because they have a potential foundation player in the former Eastern Michigan Eagle but he can’t do it all on his own.