Raiders’ Maxx Crosby feels fans’ pains for team’s collapses

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby says that he feels for the fans after the team’s latest collapse against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Las Vegas Raiders‘ start to the Josh McDaniels era could not have gone worse. They fell to a 2-7 record after suffering some brutal losses. From their blown lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9 to losing to a Jeff Saturday-coached Indianapolis Colts team the following week. But, the team seemingly turned things around, as they went on a three-game losing streak.

Their positive momentum came to an end in Week 14. On Thursday Night Football, the Raiders held a 16-3 lead with 12-minutes left in regulation, and ended up losing 17-16 on a comeback attempt led by Baker Mayfield, who had joined the team two days prior.

After the game, Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby talked about the team’s latest collapse. When describing yet another blown lead, Crosby said that he feels for the Raiders fans.

Maxx Crosby feels for Raiders fans after loss to Rams

“We had every opportunity to close this game out, and we didn’t,” said Crosby, h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “Just sick about it. It’s tough. You know, we played good football for most of the game. We just didn’t close the game. And it’s happened before. It’s unfortunate. We have work to do. As simple as that. It sucks because when you’re in the game you feel like you’ve done enough to finish it and then we just keep giving them chances. It’s all self-inflicted s—. So, that’s what makes it hard. It is what it is. Obviously, it sucks. I just feel bad for the fans.”

This is now the fourth time this season in which the Raiders blew a lead of 13-points or more. In Week 2, Las Vegas blew a 23-7 lead and lost 29-23 in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals. They held a 20-7 lead in the second quarter to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5, but lost 30-29. Then, the Raiders blew a 20-7 lead to the Jaguars and lost 27-20.

Now, they have their loss to the Rams to add to the misery.

The Raiders seemingly had the Rams stopped on their final drive of the game. Mayfield had thrown an interception to Las Vegas safety Duron Harmon, but it was negated due to a defensive pass interference penalty by Amik Robertson. On the following play, Crosby and Chandler Jones sacked Mayfield for a nine-yard loss. But, Jerry Tillery was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for slapping the football out of Mayfield’s hands after the play.

From there, Mayfield connected with receiver Ben Skowronek for a 32-yard gain to bring them into Las Vegas territory. Four plays later, Mayfield hit Van Jefferson in the corner of the end zone to give Los Angeles a 17-16 lead with 10 seconds remaining.

Last year, the Raiders made it to the playoffs as a Wild Card team. This year, they are on the outside looking in, needing to win out for the remainder of the season to have a shot at the postseason.