Maxx Crosby didn’t hide his respect for Patrick Mahomes after the Chiefs beat the Raiders, 30-27, handing Las Vegas its first loss of the season in a game that was there for the taking late.
Several days after the defeat, Crosby opened up on “The Rush With Maxx Crosby” podcast about the back-and-forth battle with Kansas City’s star quarterback.
“Got some good hits on him. It's just funny: every time I hit him, he rolls over, and then he just peeks at me just to see - and I'm always my face just staring at him,” Crosby said.
He followed that with a blunt nod to Mahomes’ place in the league.
“It’s respect, bro. Like he's the best quarterback of our generation, you know what I mean?
That's just what it is. And for me, I want to be looked at as the best at my position.
I think when you have two division rivals willing to go to the [expletive] farthest extent to go win, it makes for great entertainment and great competition,” he said.
Crosby did his part in the loss, finishing with three total tackles and a half sack. Adam Butler helped bring Mahomes down as well, and Quay Walker had the only solo sack of the game on the Chiefs quarterback.
Even with Crosby getting pressure, Mahomes still came through in the win. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
Kansas City also got a major lift from Kenneth Walker III, who piled up 177 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The result dropped Las Vegas to 3-1, while the Chiefs stayed unbeaten at 4-0. Even so, the Raiders have started fast enough to look like a team that could be in the mix with Kansas City and possibly Denver as the season wears on.
Las Vegas now turns to a road matchup against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. ET.
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Maxx Crosby Just Took The Mahomes Rivalry Somewhere Personal
Maxx Crosby has never been shy about the Patrick Mahomes matchup, but he took the familiar Raiders-Chiefs edge in a more personal direction during an episode of his podcast, The Rush. Crosby talked about the ongoing physical and psychological chess match he and Mahomes seem to play every time they line up across from each other, a rivalry built as much on stubbornness and feel as it is on pass-rush production.
Crosby also pointed to one of the stranger details of the matchup, saying Mahomes makes unusual vocal sounds when he gets tackled. It is the kind of observation that only comes from repeated collisions and plenty of time spent trying to get inside an opponents head, and Crosby has done plenty of both, piling up 6.5 sacks and 49 quarterback pressures against Mahomes in his career. [Read more 🡒]
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Christian Gonzalez and Christian Barmore were among the most notable names, with Gonzalez expected to remain out and Barmore possibly limited to some activities. The Patriots do have a few players on injured reserve who are eligible to return, but coach Mike Vrabel said it does not sound like any of them are likely to be activated this week, leaving the Raiders with a clearer path to attack a defense that may be piecing things together on the fly. [Read more 🡒]