Don't Poke the Bear, Raiders DE Maxx Crosby Answers Doubters

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby heard the doubters and quickly responded with a monster performance in his team's Week 2 victory.

Sep 15, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) celebrates after a sack during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders and its star defensive edge rusher, Maxx Crosby, had many doubters in their corner after Week 1's loss to the Chargers.

That only gave Crosby and this team more fuel to go out and silence those doubts with an upset win over the Ravens on the road last Sunday.

"Last week, we heard a lot of noise, and I know I took a lot of those things personal," Crosby said after the game. "I love that; that's where the great ones are built, and I believe I'm one of the best in the world at what I do, and every day, I show up with a purpose. I felt like I had a lot of doubters, felt like this whole team was being disrespected, so you got to respond. We just got to keep stacking days, and it's about the work you put in now, and Sunday is making it come to fruition, so it was great to come here and get a win."

Crosby finished the game with six tackles and two sacks, bringing his career sack total to 55 in just 85 career games. The 2019 fourth-round pick is no stranger to being an underdog coming out on top. He kept the same competitive mentality while discussing the win.

"Baltimore's a great team. They were a number one seed last year, they got the MVP [Lamar Jackson], and they have a lot of great players, so we respected them, but we didn't crown them." Crosby said. "We showed up here with the mindset we were going to win, and I'm glad we we found a way."

A high-powered passing offense coupled with late-game defensive stops helped the Raiders in answering some questions from the season opener, and Crosby recognized what it means to play complimentary football for 60 minutes.

“That's what it's all about, we're all in this together," Crosby said. "It's a team sport, and that's why football is the greatest sport in the world because you have 53 guys going out there, and you got to rely on every one of your teammates to be at their best, and we did that today. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't pretty, but we found a way, and it was just awesome to see those guys responding."

Safe to say these Raiders are far from being counted out this year, as Crosby and company are looking for a bit of extra bulletin board material going forward to replicate what they executed against a talented Baltimore team.

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