The Las Vegas Raiders' 2024 season seems to be lost and the team knows it. At 2-7, they need to essentially go undefeated to even have a chance at the playoffs.
Maxx Crosby knows that the Raiders probably aren't making the playoffs this year but he's not taking his foot off the gas. He revealed what the team's biggest motivation is for the rest of the season.
“If we’re not going to be the king of the castle right now, might as well go and ruin everyone’s season,” Crosby said on Thursday's episode of "Let's Go!" And I love that. I love being the villain."
“If we’re not going to be the king of the castle right now, might as well go and ruin everyone’s season.” 🔥🃏@Raiders @CrosbyMaxx with @peter_king & @JimGrayOfficial on this week's "Let's Go!"
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) November 7, 2024
On the @SIRIUSXM App 🔗 https://t.co/uqPRryMvx2 pic.twitter.com/I1IKBlvev0
This is the right outlook for Crosby to have. They aren't doing anything this season and even if they can make things interesting, they aren't going to the Super Bowl with their quarterback situation.
That said, Raiders fans might be more keen on seeing the team not win a lot of games following the bye week. It's clear that Las Vegas has major quarterback issues and they'll need a high draft pick to get one.
If the Raiders win some games down the stretch and lower their draft pick, it's not impossible to trade up but that will cost assets. The team is playing with house money the rest of the way because even losing is winning at this point.
The players won't see it that way and they shouldn't. Players are never going to tank because there's too much at stake for them every snap. One thing that playing hard down the stretch would certainly help is Antonio Pierce's job status.
If players want him back another year, they'll need to play a lot better than they have been. A 2-15 season might be bad enough for Pierce to lose his job after one full year.