Seven months after the Baltimore Ravens famously backed out of a deal for Maxx Crosby, that dude is still an absolute problem for opposing O-lines, and the New England Patriots are staring him down this Sunday. The Ravens retained two first-round draft picks after Crosby failed his physical, sending the 29-year-old defensive star right back to Las Vegas. But if you thought that hiccup would slow him down? Nope. He’s back playing his typical high-volume role along the Raiders edge, acting like nothing ever happened. For the Patriots, that’s definitely not good news.
Crosby’s Reign of Terror Continues
Maxx Crosby is a disruptive force, plain and simple. Just ask Patriots starting right tackle Morgan Moses, who’s probably got nightmares already. Moses put it perfectly: “It’s a guy that you have to pay attention to until the whistle blows, and a little bit after. He’s always around. He’s a max-effort guy, that’s what he does. It’s hats off to him, what he’s been able to do in his career in this league so far. He’s a dominant force so we have to be able to have our details, our technique and our fundamentals, and know where he’s at all the time, and obviously limit him to the ball.” You can practically feel the dread.
Through just four games this season, Crosby and the Raiders defense are already among the most disruptive units in football. The team ranks second in the NFL in quarterback pressure rate, clocking in at a ridiculous 35.6%. And Crosby? He’s personally at No. 4 in the league with 25 total pressures, including a pair of sacks. Oh, and he’s also forced a fumble and recovered one. Dude is looking exactly like the player we’ve seen tear it up in the past. Remember last year? He absolutely owned the Patriots with a sack and a season-best seven total disruptions in a 20-13 Raiders win in Foxborough. They know this guy. They know what he can do.
How Do You Even Try to Stop This Guy?
Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson isn’t sugarcoating it. “He’s a great player. We have to try our best to stop him. We know it’s not going to be easy, so we all have to help each other out to do a good job stopping him.” That’s a team effort call, and they’ll need it. Based on alignment charting, the primary matchup will fall on Moses and the right side of New England’s line. Crosby has spent a massive 176 of his 222 defensive snaps this season lining up there, which is 79.3% of the time. But don’t think you can just isolate him there.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel warns against getting complacent. “Maxx will go wherever he wants to go, and he will do whatever he wants to do, and it’s worked out really, really well,” Vrabel said. “I have a lot of respect for Maxx Crosby as a person and also as a player. So, we’ll have to know where he is on every single play.” Vrabel’s actually pretty impressed with how Las Vegas’s first-year coaching staff, led by Klint Kubiak and defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, has gelled and forced offenses into mistakes. He noted how they’ve mixed veterans like Adam Butler, Jeremy Chinn, Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce, with new additions like Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker to build a cohesive group.
The Patriots have a monumental task ahead of them this Sunday. They need to find a way to contain Maxx Crosby, who clearly shrugs off “failed physicals” like they’re nothing. It’s going to be a battle in the trenches, and if they don’t have their details locked down, Crosby is gonna feast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pats Pulpit.
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