December 12, 2025
Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) reacts after a tackle against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at SoFi Stadium.
There aren't many positives about the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders, who have very few players shining under the spotlight. On offense, it's tight end Brock Bowers. On defense, it's defensive end Maxx Crosby. And that's about it.
The Eagles, on a three-game losing streak, should consider their Week 15 clash Sunday against the Raiders at the Linc at 1 p.m. as payback from the schedule gods after five straight weeks of battling playoff contenders in either prime time or on non-conventional time slots.
But if there's one area where the struggling Eagles should have some concern is the matchup on the right side of their offensive line, where Fred Johnson is expected to fill in for an injured Lane Johnson for the fourth straight game, assuming Johnson can play despite popping up on the injury report during the week. (He was back at practice Friday.)
If Fred Johnson can't go, the Eagles are down to fourth-string RT Matt Pryor, and that would be a nightmare scenario. The Eagles are 0-3 without Lane Johnson during this stretch, and although Fred Johnson hasn't been abused, the offense has continued to struggle on third down and when it comes to establishing an impactful run game. They've also turned the ball over.
Fred Johnson will see a heavy dose of Maxx Crosby, a four-time Pro Bowler who has 9 sacks this season to go along with 18 QB hits and 25 tackles for a loss. Crosby is 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds with long arms and he plays relentlessly. His 9 sacks are 10th-most in the NFL. He's also an excellent run defender, as his 25 tackles for a loss are second only to Myles Garrett's 31.
Crosby can wreck game plans, and the tape shows that opponents go to great lengths and dedicate several resources to keep him in check.
The Eagles don't typically like to help their offensive tackles in pass protection, but at times they have given Fred Johnson some blocking help with an extra tight end. Given the current state of their offense, which ranks 24th in the NFL, the Eagles might need to dedicate more resources than usual to stopping Crosby.
Head coach Nick Sirianni made no attempt to hide that objective.
"You got to know where he is at all times. He is a phenomenal football player," Sirianni said Friday. "We've thought about him quite a bit this week. That's our job as coaches and players, to make sure that guys like that we think about and have a plan for.
"His motor is always running. He is relentless to the football, never stopping. He can rush the passer. He can stop the run. He's physical, he's fast, he's quick, he's athletic. Man, he's an outstanding fantastic football player."
The last two Raiders opponents, AFC foes Broncos and Chargers, either used quick game or a variety of blockers – or both – to keep Crosby from sabotaging their playbook. Crosby still finished with 3 sacks, 6 TFLs, and 3 QBHs combined in the two-game span.
Of course, it wasn't enough for Las Vegas to actually win, but the Eagles aren't in any position to take an opponent lightly.
The challenge of blocking Crosby is that he's extremely versatile. He lines up mostly over right tackle but occasionally rushes over the left side. He rushes with his hand in the dirt. He rushes from a stand-up position. He lines up head-up over a tackle or guard. He lines up in the Wide 9.
It's rare when Crosby lines up in the same spot on two or three consecutive snaps. Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is known as one of the NFL's better schemers, and as Jimmy Kempski noted in his game preview, the Raiders stack the box more often than any other NFL team.
Loaded boxes make it tougher for teams to get more than one body on Crosby without leaving other pass rushers single blocked, but because the Raiders lack any other elite pass rushers, Crosby still sees a heavy dose of of double teams, triple teams, chip blocks, and other strategies intended to slow him down.
It's common to see Crosby lined up in a Wide 9 to give him more space to rush the passer and make it tougher to get chipped.
Graham sent a Zero blitz there at Denver with Crosby aligned way outside so that the Broncos running back would be forced to pick up the A gap blitzer and leave Crosby alone against the right tackle. The edge pressure forced Bo Nix to throw off his back foot, incomplete.
Sometimes, Crosby aligns even wider than that.
On that snap, he lined up so wide he was just barely inside the numbers. He lined up outside the slot TE, who didn't even try to chip Crosby before his release.
You know you're feared when you get triple-teamed on a Hail Mary – and the QB still rolls away from your side!
The Broncos kept in six on that last-gasp pass from Nix before halftime and devoted literally half the blocking scheme just to Crosby. Sadly, none of his teammates capitalized.
Because Crosby is the Raiders' only weapon up front, Graham gets creative to scheme up 1-on-1s, like stunting Crosby into the A gaps, or in this next case, lining him up off the ball.
The Eagles have implemented more under center formations this year, for both downhill running and to generate a more effective play-action pass game. In those cases, the blocking scheme can often call for a tight end to block an edge defender.
To execute this basic under center play-action boot, the Broncos motioned a second tight end over to Crosby's side to get four hands on him.
The idea of Grant Calcaterra being asked to block Crosby is downright scary. The Eagles might need to feature FB/TE Cam Latu more in the game plan.
The Eagles are trying to make more strides offensively coming off an abysmal, turnover-plagued debacle against the Chargers that overshadowed some of the progress they showed with modern route concepts.
They can't let Crosby corrupt the entire blueprint.
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