The AFC West has traditionally been one of the stronger divisions in the NFL and it’s only getting tougher. Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs and Sean Payton with the Denver Broncos have both won Super Bowls before and new Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has been to a Super Bowl.
The Las Vegas Raiders hired Antonio Pierce this offseason, who will be entering just his third season as an NFL coach and first year as a full-time head coach. The narrative in the media is that the Raiders have the worst coaching situation in the NFL right now but star defensive end Maxx Crosby isn’t buying that.
“I mean, it’s just a narrative at the end of the day,” Crosby told Heavy Sports in a February 6 interview. “There are 31 teams and there’s one Raiders. They said the same thing last year going in, and we ended up being 4-2 in the division, so at the end of the day, we’re ready for all that. We’re excited. We got a ton of work to do, we got a lot of pieces that are gonna be added as well, and that’s what we want to do. To be the best, you gotta beat the best so at the end of the day, we’re ready for anything that’s coming our way.”
Pierce hasn’t coached against Harbaugh but he beat both Reid and Payton this season so he proved that he can coach with the best. However, he’s still young and will have more to prove before he gets his respect throughout the NFL world.
Maxx Crosby Thinks Highly of Las Vegas Raiders
The most impressive thing Antonio Pierce did last year was turn the Raiders defense around. After the coach took over for the fired Josh McDaniels in Week 9, the Raiders allowed the fewest points per game (16.0), had the most defensive touchdowns (4) and committed the fewest penalties (31).
According to Maxx Crosby, that wasn’t a fluke. He believes the defense will continue to build off this season and be even better in 2024.
“It’s a team thing. Pat Graham, A.P., myself, Robert Spillane, Nate Hobbs, Jack Jones, guys like that are trying to be great at what they do,” Crosby told Heavy Sports. “It’s not like some flash in the pan. We didn’t do it for a couple of weeks, we did it for nine weeks. We have a lot of great pieces. And I know we’re gonna bring in more great pieces. So we’re gonna have more ammo … we’re excited, we’re gonna continue to build on what we started, we have a lot to prove. And we’re excited to get to work. I know guys are already working. We’re looking forward to getting back out there and further establishing ourselves as one of the most dominant defenses in football.”
The Raiders were 31st in defensive spending last season, per Spotrac, but still finished top-10 in points allowed.
Maxx Crosby’s Partnership With Papa Johns
Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, Maxx Crosby has partnered with Papa Johns for their new Vegas Style Pizza to celebrate the big game taking place in Sin City for the first time. However, this pizza isn’t going to be stuffed with cheese or sauce. In fact, it’s going to be stuffed with $58,000. February 9 is the last day to enter and possibly win the big prize.
Crosby spoke about his partnership with Papa Johns.
“They are a great partner,” Crosby said of Papa Johns. “Obviously, a big fan of the food as well. Not only pizza, but everything that comes along with the company.”
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Maxx Crosby Has Stern Response to Idea That Raiders Have Worst HC in AFC West