Maxx Crosby Says Raiders Must Be Locked In On Patrick Mahomes’ Scrambling Ability

In just nine seasons, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has already established himself as one of the greatest to ever play the position. And that is something that drives Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby every time the two take the field together.

Mahomes is a three-time Super Bowl Champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP with two regular-season MVP Awards to his name as well. But this season, there has been another element added to Mahomes’ game as he is running the ball more frequently and is actually the Chiefs’ leading rusher through six games so far.

Now with the Raiders set to take on the Mahomes and the Chiefs for the first time this year, Crosby noted in his appearance on The Silver & Black Show that Mahomes being more likely to take off himself gives the defense more things to worry about:

“He’s one of the greatest to do it, period. And so when you’re going against a guy like that, he provides a lot of challenges in a lot of different ways and I think just watching the film this year, he’s been a little bit more aggressive, tucking the ball and running it. It’s something that he’s typically done in the playoffs more, but he’s doing it now, even in the regular season, and I feel like it makes it harder on defenses and stresses them out even more.”

Crosby would continue on, saying that the defense has to be locked in while also showing Mahomes a lot of love and respect, as they are both extremely competitive and will do anything to win:

“We already knew he’s a good athlete, but when he really just decides to take off, you have to worry about not only pass rush, make sure the pass rush is coordinated. But making sure we’re getting him on the ground and making sure everyone’s staying locked in on the back end because he’s going to scramble to try to make plays, he’s going to take off and do the whole nine. So yea he’s an incredible competitor, an incredible player, and me and him have a special relationship because I feel like we’re very similar in a lot of ways. When it comes to being obsessed with winning and that competitive nature where you refuse to lose and he’s one of those guys, so every time we see each other, we’re both on that time for sure.”

There is no doubt that the Raiders have to be locked in, as Mahomes’ 222 rushing yards in six games is more than half of his career-high for an entire season. Making things even tougher for the Raiders is that star receiver Rashee Rice is set to make his season debut as well, giving Mahomes his favorite target.

But the Raiders have traditionally played the Chiefs very tough in recent years, and there is no doubt that Crosby will be leading the charge into Kansas City this weekend for a very important showdown.

Pete Carroll confirms Ashton Jeanty will have larger role in Raiders offense going forward

On the offensive end, the Raiders have begun leaning more on rookie running back Ashton Jeanty and head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that Jeanty will have a larger role in the offense moving forward.