Fresh off a tough, season-opening loss to the Chiefs, the Ravens get back to work this weekend against the Raiders.
Las Vegas features a nightmare of a defender in Maxx Crosby, an edge rusher so good, the Raiders paid him well before they were required to. He's already backed that up, recording a sack to go along with five tackles in Las Vegas' season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and he has a new target in sight: Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
If ever there were a quarterback capable of neutralizing Crosby's menacing pass rush, it's Jackson, a supremely electrifying athlete who has essentially twisted every NFL defense's brains into knots with his elusiveness.
The Ravens aren't banking on Jackson's athleticism to solve the Crosby issue, at least not on his own.
“Yes. [Crosby] certainly a game-wrecker, no doubt about it," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday. "[He’s] one of the best players in football. [He’s] a very unpredictable player because of his high level of energy. He brings it every single play. He plays almost every single snap. He’s up field, he’s underneath, he’s into you, he’s back around the back side, he’s spinning, he’s knocking your hands off, [and] he’s running to the ball. He’s just a game-wrecker -- to use that word is exactly the right word."
There are plenty of options to keep Crosby from wrecking the game. The Ravens can run Jackson in a read option with Crosby as the read defender, essentially making a decision based on Crosby's reaction. They can roll Jackson away from Crosby in the passing game. They could pepper the Raiders with screens to keep their pass rush honest.
Still, a player of Crosby's caliber cannot be overlooked. That would be asking for trouble for the Ravens.
"We’re going to have to do everything we can, but you can’t put 11 guys on one guy, you have to handle all 11 of their guys as well," Harbaugh continued. "So, we’re going to have to do a great job with their whole defense, and definitely, he’s the guy you put the dot on and understand that he’s the top guy that you need to look out for.”
One week after going toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and the back-to-back Super Bowl champs, the Ravens encounter a matchup that should favor them. Las Vegas' defense is no slouch, though, proving itself by limiting Justin Herbert to a 17-for-26, 144-yard, one-touchdown passing line in Week 1.
Jackson should present more troubles for them. The Raiders will hope Crosby can tip the scales in their favor as violently as possible.