David Zalubowski) / Associated Press
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) against the Denver Broncos during the first half of an NFL football game in Denver on Sunday, October 17, 2021.
Monday, October 18, 2021 | 2 a.m
Denver –
Maxx Crosby was getting closer.
After a performance of two sacks, five quarterbacks, which earned him the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award in Week 1, the Raiders’ Star Edge Rusher had been banned from the Sacks column for three games in a row. He made himself felt and put constant pressure on but didn’t get the results he wanted.
Gus Bradley, the Raiders’ defensive coordinator, told him not to be frustrated and urged him to stick with the same process, promising that the sacks would eventually come “in bundles”. They came in groups on Sunday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High when Crosby snatched three sacks of career height – he was at four before a stats correction turned two of them into split sacks – to help the Raiders to a 34-24 win run the broncos.
“We hurried really well; we’re just not done yet, ”said Crosby. “We’re done today.”
According to interim trainer Rich Bisaccia, this feeling does not only apply to the pass frenzy; it fits the whole team. While many have questioned whether Las Vegas is now entering a losing season after insulting emails surfaced two weeks ago forced coach Jon Gruden to resign Monday night, Bisaccia said his team’s determination has never waned.
The Raiders insisted their poor performance against the Bears last week, which resulted in a second straight loss, was not the result of a distraction from Gruden, but rather a day off. The best way to prove that the Raiders can take on the Broncos and get back to the level they started the season 3-0 was the best way for the Raiders.
They did just that without leaving a dominant win that improved them to 4-2 that year and shared AFC West’s lead despite the Los Angeles Chargers currently sticking to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“We don’t feel that exertion was a problem at all this year,” said Bisaccia. “We feel like we have a good team. We have a good team that is constantly competing with itself. We thought we had really good practice on Wednesday and Thursday and they played a lot as they practiced. “
Bisaccia, the former special teams co-head coach / coordinator who was promoted in Gruden’s absence, downplayed the personal significance of the win despite having waited 38 years for his first chance as head coach. Some changes were noticeable in Bisaccia.
On the one hand, he was on the field with the special team almost three hours before kick-off – and it may have been worth it. Kicker Daniel Carlson and punter AJ Cole turned out to be an important part of the profit.
The former made two out of three field goal attempts, including a 50-yarder on the Raiders’ second possession, while the latter continued a hot start to the year by continuously giving visitors an advantage in field position. Bisaccia’s biggest problem came at kick-off when he couldn’t figure out if his headset could communicate with the likes of Bradley and offensive coordinator Greg Olson.
“Back when I was wearing it, we didn’t have all of these buttons,” said Bisaccia.
Based on the smooth running of the offense, Olson may not have needed any help on his return to playcalling. The Raiders made their most efficient attack of the season, averaging 8.2 yards per game, jumping on the Broncos from the start.
They scored in their opening game for the first time in 12 games dating back to last season when Derek Carr struck a deep shot with Henry Ruggs III that resulted in a 48-yard touchdown.
“We pretty much knew what to do,” said Ruggs. “Week after week we know that we have to start quickly. We just needed someone to show up and give us that spark, and that’s what I did. “
Crosby’s first sack came to Denver’s first possession a few games later to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Although the Broncos scored a goal later on the trip – a 23-yard touchdown pass from Teddy Bridgewater to Tim Patrick – they didn’t do much until the score was out of reach.
Las Vegas cornerback Brandon Facyson ended Denver’s second drive early, with an interception on a pass Bridgewater threw over the head of his receiver on his own side of the field. The takeaways didn’t stop as Las Vegas had three others after failing to see sales against Chicago so they stressed out this week.
Safeties Tre’von Moehrig and Jonathan Abram had interceptions in the late game, while Solomon Thomas forced a key fumble on defense, which Denzel Perryman made up for at the end of the third quarter.
“It just shows how great Bradley is as a coach in leading a group of men,” said Crosby. “It’s really something special.”
Thomas’ forced fumble gave the Raiders offensive a short field which they used with a 42-yard five-game drive that included another long pass to Ruggs and was limited by a three-yard touchdown from Josh Jacobs. The Las Vegas floor game got on track under Olson and Bisaccia, with Kenyan running back Drake dwarfing Jacobs, who had 53 yards on 16 carries.
Drake got off to a slow start to the season with 63 all-purpose yards, including an 18-yard touchdown rush and a 31-yard touchdown catch in back-to-back scores that helped the Raiders stand out in the third quarter .
“I’m just trying to make the best of my options when my name is mentioned,” said Drake. “We just wanted to stay together and block out the noise.”
It started with Carr, who insisted on switching to his teammates all week, even though he was “unhappy” about Gruden’s departure. He responded by throwing 18 of 27 attempts to pass for 247 yards with no (even close) interceptions.
He admitted he wanted to hug Gruden after the game but was thrilled with how the team stayed together amid the turmoil.
“That definitely brought us closer in meetings and so on with the guys,” said Carr. “I am proud of where we are, to go for our organization to win. We urgently needed a win this week. Sometimes it is difficult to recover from being hit in the stomach, but we made it. “
Crosby was the only player to mention that he was driven by “getting a win for Coach Rich”. And he may have been the main culprit in the end, with constant pressure on Bridgewater leading to one last sack at the end of the game as the Broncos attempted a miracle comeback.
Crosby has stayed on track all season no matter what got in his way. Likewise his team.
“Crazy things always happen in this business – especially with the Raiders,” joked Crosby. “There is no mistake. Since I’ve been here, there has always been something going on, but the people we have in this building are resilient. “
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or
