The Chicago Bears are coming off a strong 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Now, the team is heading into another tough matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, who are in Year 1 of the Pete Carroll era. While Carroll is a new face to the Raiders franchise, one player who’s long been synonymous with Las Vegas is defensive end Maxx Crobsy. He even has the Raiders logo tattooed on him.
Ahead of Sunday’s matchup, Bears head coach Ben Johnson opened up about the team’s next opponent and let his feelings out about having to defend a player like Crosby.
“In my opinion, he’s a top-five player in this league on defense and probably doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves,” Johnson said of Crosby, according to the Raiders’ website. “He’s all over the place, relentless, high motor and you’ve got to account for him and know where he’s at every single snap or else he’ll get ya. He wrecks drives. That’s what he does.”
Maxx Crosby #98 of the Las Vegas Raiders looks on during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Allegiant Stadium on September 22, 2024 i… | Ian Maule/Getty Images/Ian Maule/Getty Images
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams also got in on the Crosby chatter.
“He’s Maxx Crosby; he’s something that you need to be aware of for every single play and understand the type of player that he is and how much he can affect the game, how much he does affect a game and a game plan,” Williams added.
Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle noted that Crosby is a “unique player” and that the Bears are taking him into consideration with their pregame planning.
“When building a plan, obviously you have to have awareness of where he’s at at all times. He’s a phenomenal player. He plays with great effort,” Doyle said. “That’s the biggest thing about him that shows up on the tape. He’s slippery and you just have to have an awareness and on every single play, you’ve got to have a plan for how we’re going to handle him.”
Crosby, who was drafted by the Raiders in 2019, has been one of the strongest defensive ends in the league. The Michigan native has clocked 61.5 sacks since joining the NFL. During the offseason, he signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension with the Raiders that includes $91.5 million guaranteed.
