Raiders Rewind: Maxx Crosby Dominates As Raiders Catch Lucky Break

Jeff Spiegel
Jeff Spiegel
6 Min Read
Nov 20, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Detailed view of a Las Vegas Raiders helmet before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

When Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels sits around the Thanksgiving table this week, one name should be atop his list of things to be thankful for: Nathaniel Hackett.

Desperate for a win to break out of a three-game skid, McDaniels’ team was victorious on Sunday, thanks in part to a monumental blunder by his counterpart in the final minutes of Sunday’s game. With two minutes to go and his team up by three, the Broncos were facing third-and-10 on their own side of the field.

The obvious choice was to run the ball, run 40 seconds off the clock, and punt the ball away to an offense that had scored just 13 points — but this is Hackett we’re talking about. Instead, he dialed up a pass play, Russell Wilson threw incomplete (instead of just taking a sack), and the Raiders got the ball back with 1:43 left on the clock and the ball at their own 22.

Three plays later, the Raiders were at the Denver 7 with just 32 seconds left on the clock.

Would have been nice to have run some clock earlier, eh?

(Hackett also called timeout with the Raiders running up to spike the ball, giving them an extra chance at the end zone, which ultimately proved insignificant).

The Raiders would eventually kick a field goal and win in overtime — sparing Josh McDaniels from the ignominy of having lost to Jeff Saturday and Hackett in back-to-back weeks — giving them their third win of the season.

Offensive Headline: Feed Davante

“I have been trying to figure out why you wouldn’t triple cover him ever play.”

That was the quote from Keelan Cole after Adams walked into the end zone for the second time, the latter a walk-off touchdown in overtime. And honestly…Cole is right.

The other pass-catchers are Cole, Mack Hollins, Foster Moreau and Josh Jacobs — so how in the world do you let the best receiver in the world beat you?

Adams finished with 7 catches (on 13 targets) for 141 yards, but the game-winning touchdown was just his second after halftime — an inexcusable fact that nearly cost the Raiders the game.

Defensive Headline: Signs of Life!!

I’ve crapped on the Raiders defense all season, but I have to admit that they deserve most of the credit for the team’s win. To be clear: the Broncos offense isn’t good, but the effort put forth in the second half by Patrick Graham’s unit deserves some credit.

After allowing the Broncos to score on their first two drives of the game (and then march down inside the five on their third before Maxx Crosby blocked a field goal), the defense produced this sequence of results after halftime: punt, punt, field goal, punt, field goal, punt.

The million-dollar question is, can this type of performance be replicated? Or did they get bailed out by a below-average offense? Sunday’s trip to Seattle will offer some insight.

Player of the Game: Maxx Crosby

Are we sure Crosby isn’t the best defensive player in the league?

Through 10 games, he leads the NFL in tackles for loss (16), he’s tied for fifth in sacks (9), he has two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. Among players in the top 40 for sacks, he’s also the only player with 40+ tackles on the season.

Oh, and he’s doing this on a defensive line completely devoid of talent.

On Sunday, Crosby made a mental mistake that resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Denver’s final drive before the half. His response? He forced a fumble that prevented a touchdown and then blocked the ensuing field goal. By the time the final whistle blew, Crosby’s line read: Six tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss and the blocked kick.

Odds and Ends

  • One area that the Raiders absolutely need to clean up are the penalties — Vegas committed nine for 98 yards on Sunday, many of which seemed to end offensive drives before they began. On all three of their first-half drives, the Raiders faced 2nd or 3rd and more than 15 — none of which were eventually converted for a first down.
  • Denver came into the game 14th in rushing yards allowed, but for the second time this season, Josh Jacobs absolutely terrorized the Broncos defense. Jacobs finished with 26 touches for 160 total yards.
  • Melvin Gordon, who fumbled while trying to score in the second quarter, was released by the Broncos on Monday.

Information

Jeff Spiegel was raised in California but currently resides in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he worked in sports before entering journalism full time — first as a Sports Reporter and then as the Associate Editor of a small newspaper. Online, he has been writing about both the Raiders and Dodgers since 2012 — having written for DodgersNation.com and SBNation.com prior to joining both DodgerBlue.com and RaidersNewswire.com. He left full-time journalism in 2012 to become a pastor. Jeff can be found on Twitter at @JeffSpiegel. Favorite Raider This one is an easy one for me: Charles Woodson. When the Raiders drafted him, there was nothing to dislike about the guy — he was exciting and he was freaking good. Unfortunately, of course, he left after eight seasons — but when he returned in 2013 it was one of the better Raider moments of my lifetime. At that point, I didn't care how washed he was (and he wasn't!) — I just liked having him back in the silver and black. Obviously Tim Brown is another guy that was easy to love, but Woodson is the all-timer for me. As far as current, I'm still a believer in Derek Carr and think he's going to figure this all out. Favorite Raider Moment I think I'll go with the two weeks leading up to the 2001 Super Bowl. As a kid, I remember getting the newspaper every morning to read what they were talking about, clipping out the articles to keep for later. It was obviously far more exciting than the Super Bowl itself, but I'll never forget those moments of hope leading up to the Super Bowl. I referenced it above, but second to that was probably the return of Charles Woodson in 2013 — I just loved the guy, and never dreamed he'd actually come back.