Even with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo out, the Las Vegas Raiders had a prime opportunity to maintain their winning ways against the Chicago Bears team, also starting a backup quarterback. Instead, the Raiders were soundly outplayed in their 30-12 loss, and star defensive end Maxx Crosby was very unhappy with the team’s performance.
The offense committed three turnovers and totaled just 235 yards, failing to score 20 points for the seventh straight game to start the season. Meanwhile, the defense allowed 173 rushing yards to a Bears team that was also without their top two backs.
After the game, Crosby did not mince his words, calling the performance an embarrassment and saying the Raiders simply were not good enough, via Logan Reever of 8 News Now:
“It just was s****y football, we didn’t play good enough in any phase…It’s about doing your job to the best level you possibly can on a play-to-play basis and that’s the focus every single day. Not only for myself, but for our D-Line, our defense, our offense in general we gotta play better complimentary football. It just wasn’t good enough, it was literally an embarrassment.”
There really is no other way to describe it than what Crosby said, an embarrassment. The Bears came into this contest having not won a home game since Week 3 of last season and missing many of their top playmakers, including Justin Fields and Khalil Herbert. But it didn’t matter, as the Raiders looked like a team that had no interest in taking the field.
Crosby remained one of the lone bright spots for the Raiders on this day, adding another five tackles and a sack to bring his season total up to 40 total tackles and 6.5 sacks. Of the 18 players with at least five sacks this season, only Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter is within 10 tackles of Crosby as he continues to prove himself as a truly elite defensive lineman.
But Crosby has also stepped up as a vocal leader on this team, willing to speak up and speak honestly when things are going good or bad. He understands that he is one of the faces of this Raiders franchise and takes pride in being out front regardless of the end results.
And even with this game going the exact opposite of how anyone hoped, the Raiders season is far from over, and they are still right in the thick of a potential playoff race. It will simply be a matter of the Raiders taking Crosby’s words to heart and getting better in every facet of the game.
