So much went wrong for the Las Vegas Raiders in their lopsided defeat against an undermanned Los Angeles Rams team in Week 7 of the 2026 NFL season. It was one of those games where everything just snowballed on both sides of the ball, and Klint Kubiak's team never really had a shot at winning.
Maxx Crosby certainly wasn't any help on Sunday, either.
One of the big stories of the offseason was his looming and eventual departure from the Raiders, followed by his bizarre and untimely return. But the remarriage between the two sides seemed to be going smoothly, even with the understanding that Crosby would play fewer reps coming off an injury.
And while everything was going according to plan in the first few weeks of the campaign, and Crosby looked like perhaps an even better version of himself, he's fallen off in the last three weeks and reached a new low on Sunday. Crosby simply can't disappear in the way that he did and has been.
Where has Maxx Crosby gone for the Raiders' defense?
Did anyone even notice Maxx Crosby during the game against the Rams?
Not only does he tend to make great plays, but Crosby will often get so close on many others, slightly overrunning a ball carrier or knocking down a quarterback after getting inches from him for a sack. But against Los Angeles, and in the last three weeks, really, Crosby has been pretty invisible.
In the first four weeks of the season, Crosby recorded 2.0 sacks and a whopping 25 pressures with nine quarterback hits. Over the last three weeks, he has managed just 12 pressures and four hits while recording no sacks. He's also missed three tackles in the last three contests.
That is a stark contrast, and one that is backed up by the film and eye test. Sure, it is hard for Crosby to do it all himself, as the Raiders' pass rush hasn't been ultra-consistent around him. But that has always been the case for Crosby, at least ostensibly, so why is he suddenly struggling to get home?
Sacks can be a fleeting stat, as they come in bunches, and they aren't always indicative of how well a player is rushing. But it's still not great for him to be third on the team in sacks, tied with Quay Walker, and sitting at 62nd in the league. He's tied with the likes of Jalen Ramsey and Nick Emmanwori.
The lack of pressure is also a concern, as Crosby's win rate was at a season-low 6.7% against the Rams. He's just been up-and-down this year, which is unlike Crosby and a bit concerning. The team is clearly not as good when he can't get home, so Crosby simply has to get the job done.
Las Vegas needs to reinstitute a lower snap share for Maxx Crosby
Earlier in the year, it felt like Crosby was at least making timely plays. He had clutch sacks against the Miami Dolphins and a strip sack against the New Orleans Saints in the fourth quarter. And while the Raiders haven't been winning over the last few weeks, Crosby hasn't been coming alive, either.
Perhaps part of that has to do with the fact that Las Vegas is no longer limiting his snaps in the way that it was earlier in the year. Through the first three games, he did not play more than 86% of the snaps. In the last four weeks, he's played 90% or more on three occasions.
That may feel like semantics, but it matters both in the flow of the game and over the course of the season. Crosby is supposed to be fresher later on and help the team down the stretch of the game, but the Raiders have abandoned this strategy.
With him clearly struggling lately, perhaps it is time to get back to that.
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