Job one for Bengals offense vs Raiders: Contain Maxx Crosby ‘He can disrupt and entire game’

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor knows they must have a plan against Maxx Crosby ‘He can disrupt and entire game’

Hopes and dreams are important. But you can want all day long. It doesn’t mean you’ll get it. For instance, the Bengals would very much like to keep Maxx Crosby from wreaking havoc on the pocket and taking down their high-flying offense in the process.

But they know full well what he is capable of doing and are hoping to be ready for it.

“He’s one of the best players in the NFL,” Bengals head coach Zac Tayor said of Crosby this week. “He is. And you have to have a plan for him. He can disrupt an entire game. Outside of the players in our locker room here, he’s one of my favorite players in this league.

Just how he goes about every single snap, the run game, the pass game, the leadership that he’s shown on that team. He’s helped absolutely put them in a position to be in the playoffs where they’re at right now. There’s a lot of players around the league that I respect and he’s certainly top-notch and one of the top up there for me.”

It’s smart for Taylor to respect Crosby. But that may not be enough. The Pro Bowl edge rusher undoubtedly had the respect of the Chargers, but that didn’t stop him from terrorizing them to the tune of ten pressures, six tackles, four QB hits, three tackles for loss, three pass breakups, and two sacks. And one of his QB hits led to an interception.

Those numbers put him over 100 pressures on the season (101) and earned him Defensive Player of the Week. More importantly, it helped thrust the Raiders into the playoffs. Now he becomes Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s problem.

“He’s obviously a great player,” Burrow said this week. “He did the same thing to us in week (11), so we’re going to have to have a plan for him and have to get the ball out quickly and just understand that my time might be limited in the pocket because those guys they have on that side.”

Burrow knows a bit about being sacked. No QB this season was sacked more than he was (51).

In these two teams’ first meeting he was sacked three times. And none of them were Crosby who put up one QB hit and one tackle for loss. But just because he wasn’t the one doing the sacking, doesn’t mean the pressure he brings didn’t free others up to get to Burrow. In that game, it was Yannick Ngakoue, Quinton Jefferson, and Solomon Thomas who got home.

But as you can see in this clip, Crosby is always affecting the passer, even when it isn’t him who makes the sack.

Take away Crosby, and this team isn’t in the playoffs. That’s exactly what the Bengals would like to do. Good luck with that.

[vertical-gallery id=88751]

[lawrence-newsletter]