Maxx Crosby vs. Joe Burrow
There’s currently eight players on the active roster that were on the team in 2021 that suffered a 26-19 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Maxx Crosby, the defensive anchor for the Raiders, is one of those eight who haven’t forgotten.
In that contest, Crosby sacked Joe Burrow once plus notched two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss. However, the Bengals quarterback had the last laugh, with 244 passing yards, two touchdowns and his franchise’s first playoff victory in 20 years. As Crosby returns to Paycor Stadium for the first time since that game, he’ll have some demons to exercise.
Burrow is ranked top five in the league in pass completions (185), completion percentage (70.3), passing touchdowns (15) and passer rating (75.4). With improved offensive line play and several weapons at receiver, Burrow is on track to have one his best seasons even though his team currently has a 3-5 record.
“He doesn’t flinch,” Pierce said of Burrow. “I mean, he sees it. If he sees single high, that ball is going to the outside, right? He sees the two high safety; he makes the correct throw and throws a checkdown and gets the ball in the middle of the field. But more importantly, I think what shocked me is his athleticism. I saw that the other day from the Giants game, a 50-yard touchdown outrunning a linebacker, Isaiah Simmons, who runs a 4.3. Competitive, tough, smart, you can see even battling all the injuries, man. Everything’s rallied around this player, and he’s a special player. So, we’ve got to disrupt him, get him uncomfortable, and obviously not allow him to have easy targets.”
Crosby, like the Bengals quarterback, is having one of his best seasons despite it not showing up consistently in the win column. The defensive end is ranked top 10 in the league in sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (10). Additionally, he has the second-best edge run…
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