On Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders were brutally defeated. Even though they were the favorites going into the game, Las Vegas appeared disoriented as the unimpressive Carolina Panthers crushed them.
Part of the reason the defense performed so poorly in the defeat was that they did not have any pass rush at all. Andy Dalton was given the entire day to sit in the pocket and complete passes; he completed three touchdowns and 319 yards of passing.
That’s not often the case for opposition quarterbacks when edge rusher Maxx Crosby is healthy. But as he said following the Raiders’ defeat, he’s not quite well right now. Given that Crosby was limited in practice this week following his initial ailment sustained in Las Vegas’ Week 2 victory, this isn’t necessarily a new injury. But this might make things a whole lot worse for the Raiders.
Malcolm Koonce is already out for the season for Las Vegas, and Tyree Wilson, their first-round pick in 2023, hasn’t produced much. This does not appear to be good news for the defensive line with Crosby sidelined and Koonce out. To make matters worse, on Saturday the Raiders secondary was also completely destroyed. You would have to hope that your secondary can hold up a little bit longer than normal if you are unable to get a pass rush.
On Sunday, it obviously wasn’t the case. With Crosby down, the Raiders will need to find a way to create a pass rush as quickly as possible. Even if Mad Maxx is obviously not able to play as much as he can when healthy, he will undoubtedly insist on continuing. Someone else who can get in the backfield is needed by Las Vegas.
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