At the end of the most distracting and controversial week in franchise history, the Las Vegas Raiders managed to blow out the Denver Broncos. It was the most complete performance this team played since before Jon Gruden even arrived. More specifically, Maxx Crosby cemented his status as a top-tier defensive player in this league. Let us take a look into that and much more in the Raiders’ decisive win over their division rival.
Maxx Crosby Dominates in Las Vegas Raiders Win Over Denver Broncos
What an impressive performance by one of the Raiders defensive leaders in Maxx Crosby. He put the team on his back, emotionally, and helped carry them to a win when they needed it most. It did not matter what side of the field he lined up on either. He came into the game with one thing in mind, domination, and no one was going to stop him. Crosby finished the game with three sacks, five quarterback hits, and one pass deflection. There was not a play on defense where his presence was not felt. Crosby now has more sacks than Khalil Mack did at this point in his career. He is still a long shot to win Defensive Player of the Year, but Crosby will emerge as a favorite if he continues to have dominating performances like this.
Running Back Kenyan Drake
After essentially being non-existent in the first few games of the season, Kenyan Drake has finally arrived. This is the type of performance Raiders fans were expecting from him when he was signed in the offseason. When used efficiently, Drake is both a threat in the run and pass game. He flashed his pass-catching abilities with a 31-yard touchdown reception on a wheel route out of the backfield. Drake also showcased his abilities on the ground with an 18-yard touchdown run. In the said run, he exploded through the open hole created by both Alex Leatherwood and Brandon Parker. This performance was truly the coming-out party both the Raiders and Drake needed.
Quarterback Derek Carr
It truly is feast or famine when it comes to Derek Carr. He either throws for 300+ yards and dominates, or struggles to reach the two-century mark. Whatever the reasoning in the past, Carr clearly benefited from a change in play-callers this week. Reports came out a few days ago of Carr having more input and veto power in regards to the offensive game plan. Maybe this is the secret to Carr looking like a top-tier quarterback in more than just random spurts during the season. He finished the game with 341 passing yards, two touchdowns, and zero turnovers.
Conclusion
The Raiders’ defensive line is already up to 15.5 sacks on the season. For perspective, they finished the 2020 season with a total of 16 sacks. The team came into this game with a slightly banged-up secondary, but an outstanding defensive line truly is the great equalizer. The challenge will now be to carry this performance over to the rest of the season. With the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town next weekend, the Raiders will have the opportunity to go into their bye week with some real momentum. We are going to find out if it was the player’s emotions that led to this dominating performance, or if Rich Bassacia has truly garnered respect from the players in the locker room. As of this writing, the latter seems much more likely.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
