Raiders vs Cardinals 2022 Week 2: Studs and Duds

The Las Vegas Raiders lost in crushing fashion to the Arizona Cardinals, here are the studs and duds from a brutal Week 2 defeat.

Raiders vs Cardinals 2022 Week 2: Studs and Duds

Stud – Maxx Crosby

Maxx Crosby is probably taking the day off today and spending his evening in an ice bath after chasing Kyler Murray around for four quarters. The defensive end was all over the field for the Raiders and recorded the team’s first sack of the season in the first half when everything was going great for Las Vegas.

As the game started to turn in favor of Arizona, Crosby was still chasing Murray and showed that tremendous motor that has made him one of the best defensive ends in the NFL. He had a chance to be the hero on 4th and goal at the end of the game, but the diminutive QB was able to squirm away from his grasp, but we can’t fault him after being on the field for much of the second half.

Crosby was one of the standouts on a defensive unit that was having a dominant day until fatigue started to wear on them and Arizona went full schoolyard ball mode. He played 94% of the team’s defensive snaps which equals 82 grueling plays of chasing one of the most mobile QBs in the league.

This on its own is an indictment of the coaching staff, more on that later, as this was the perfect game for a deep rotation at defensive end to keep fresh legs trying to corral Kyler Murray. Crosby gives 100% effort on every play and the Raiders need to spell him more to keep him effective and fresh late in games but he is one of the few bright spots from this game.