Monday Night the Raiders stepped on the big stage and no one shined quite as bright as star edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
The Pro Bowler was in the Packers’ backfield all day disrupting plays both in the run and the pass which led to him having a sack, a QB hit and four tackles for loss.
His performance earned him the Defensive Player of the Week Honors for Week five.
Robert Spillane and Amik Robertson grabbed some of the spotlight for their interceptions in the game. Spillane in particular had two of them. Here is what he had to say about Crosby after the game.
“That dude lives possessed. Everything he does is at full speed. At practice, walk-thru, games…so, I just admire his work ethic and he shows up every time the lights come on, so I’m just glad to be working behind him.”
“Yeah, teams always got to figure out what they want to do with Maxx Crosby. Do they double him? Do they triple him? And he still finds a way to get pressure on the quarterback, so the more that we could do that with four rushers, the better our pass defense will be.”
Robertson had the game-sealing pick in the end zone which preserved the Raiders 17-13 win and made Crosby’s efforts worth it.
“He gives us an opportunity of being able to get our hands on the ball,” he said of Crosby. “Maxx is making it hard on the quarterbacks week in and week out. We got to do our job as far as covering. We cover well, he’ll get home. If he get home, that’s when we get picks. So, it’s like it kind of goes hand-in-hand.”
Despite having a former offensive coordinator as a head coach, the Raiders have yet to score more than 18 points in a game. Monday they got their second win of the season, both games having scored just 17 points.
Josh McDaniels knows how lucky he is and that without Crosby’s efforts, he would be looking at 1-4 right now.
“Consistency. Maxx [Crosby] does it every day with his effort, his work, how much he cares about every little detail relative to the football team, his teammates, his body, practice,” said McDaliels. “And then he gives it everything he has, every single time he’s out there. And he never comes off the field, as you know. So, tremendous leadership. . . then Maxx just creating problems, tackles for loss, sacks and pressures all game.”
Crosby is having a career year so far, which is saying a lot considering some of his great seasons. But he isn’t satisfied.
“More is required,” Crosby said of his performance. “For me I feel like I’ve started off doing pretty well. But, like I said, I take it personal. I do this all year round, I want to be the best, and it’s an every day process. Next week I gotta be even better. I do it for my guys, I do it for all the people in my circle, I do it for the people I love most. I do it for them, not the people that doubt me. People have been doubting me forever, I do it for the people that believe in me. Every time I go out there I take it personal. Try to stay as level-headed as possible and take it one play at a time. I feel like that’s translated onto the field.”