The Las Vegas Raiders are out to a 1-1 start to the 2025 NFL season, and their defense has been a pleasant surprise. After so much turnover this offseason, fans thought very little of this group, but they have exceeded expectations through the first two weeks.
In Week 1 against the New England Patriots, the Raiders' defensive line dominated the game, making life tough on quarterback Drake Maye. They recorded four sacks and a whopping 27 pressures, with five players having at least three.
Star defensive end Maxx Crosby was the head of the snake, of course, as he led the way with a sack and a ridiculous seven pressures. In Week 2, the defense practically picked up where they left off, giving up just 20 points to a high-powered Los Angeles Chargers offense.
Maxx Crosby and defensive line need to step up for Raiders
Only this time, despite the strong overall play of the defense, Crosby and the defensive line let the team down. The Chargers' offensive line is without star left tackle Rashawn Slater, and their group has been jumbled around this offseason due to injuries and poor performance.
Still, Las Vegas was only able to muster two sacks against Los Angeles and a measly 11 pressures. Crosby struggled, in particular, as he was held to just one pressure and a 10% win rate, according to Pro Football Focus. He also had an offsides penalty in the contest and gave up one catch for 10 yards.
Crosby recorded an average 63.9 overall grade from PFF, but his 52.4 pass-rushing mark is far below his standard. In fact, it was his lowest output since Week 14 of the 2020 NFL season. As the star, Crosby takes most of the blame, but the entire defensive line struggled alongside him to get after Justin Herbert on Monday.
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To make matters worse for Crosby specifically, however, Chargers right tackle Trey Pipkins, whom he was matched up against for most of the game, recorded his second-best PFF pass-blocking grade of his seven-year NFL career, and his best since Week 16 of the 2023 season.
Monday's game was not the standard, as Herbert had all day to throw, and the Raiders could not contain him even when they had pressure on him. Things won't get any easier against either Jayden Daniels or Marcus Mariota in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders.
The Raiders paid Maxx Crosby a lot of money this offseason to spearhead a vicious defensive line in Las Vegas. Through two games, most of his statistical outputs and advanced analytics still place him among the best defenders in the league because of a strong Week 1.
But Monday's game was one of the worst he has put together in recent memory. If not for getting his hands on a muffed Chargers handoff late in the game, this may have been his worst game as a Raider in who knows how long. Fortunately, there is no doubt that he will right the ship next week.