Raiders at Broncos 2023 Week 1: Studs and Duds

Raiders at Broncos 2023 Week 1: Studs and Duds

Maxx Crosby - Stud

I’m pretty sure I said this a few times last year, but Maxx Crosby should have his name on this list written in permanent marker. He’s also probably tired of being the only defensive player that makes this list regularly as he is rarely joined by the rest of the team. Divine Deablo deserves some mention here for making some big plays and we hope he can earn a couple stud awards this year.

Crosby was a terror all day long for the Denver offense and did his usual thing of camping out in the opposing team's backfield. There were a couple of instances where he lost contain on Russell Wilson, who is still shifty, but for the most part he played an excellent game. He registered his first sack of the season, drew a holding call, and recorded his first of many tackles for loss.

The only thing holding back Crosby right now is the lack of a true pass-rush partner on the other side of the defense and opposing tackles being allowed to literally hold him back.

Hopefully the Chandler Jones situation will get resolved and bounce back from a down year and a strange offseason to give Crosby some help. Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson tried their best but went largely unnoticed, though Jerry Tillery did record a nice sack as an interior pass rusher.

This defense will always have a fighting chance with Crosby on the field, but they definitely need to match his game if they want this undefeated party to last.