The Las Vegas Raiders have lost their fourth straight game after losing to the Los Angeles Rams 35-21 in Week 7 on Oct. 25 at Allegiant Stadium. After starting 3-0, the Raiders are now 3-4 and below .500 for the first time this season.
Amid the losing streak, Raiders’ Maxx Crosby didn’t hold back his thoughts on the team’s situation for what looked like a promising start to the season, now heading toward another losing campaign for the Silver and Black if the situation continues to go off the rails.
“You just got to keep finding ways to get better,” Crosby told reporters postgame. “We’re not playing good enough right now—too many ups and downs, starting slow in the second half for the last couple of weeks. We got to find solutions fast; we have another opportunity against the Jets. We all got to look in the mirror and be better.”
Before their bye week in Week 9, the Raiders could head into that with a win in Week 8 against a New York Jets team that’s in a disastrous state after losing to the winless Miami Dolphins in Week 7.
Maxx Crosby Doesn’t Believe Raiders Will Point Fingers
Moreover, the offense did little to help the defense as the Raiders’ offensive unit went 3-for-14 on third down to keep drives alive. Meanwhile, the defense is also at fault in the loss as they couldn’t hold the Rams’ offensive unit to field goals in the red zone.
Los Angeles’ offense went 5-for-5 on their red zone trips. As a result, there’s plenty of blame to go around, but Crosby doesn’t believe the Raiders have that type of dressing room.
“We’re not worried about that,” Crosby added. “We’re not that type of locker room at all. We have great guys in this locker room. I think everyone just has to look in the mirror and figure out ways to get better. We know as a team we can be a lot better, and we have to find solutions.”
Las Vegas Has to Stop the Opposing Team’s Running Game
The main issue that the Raiders need to solve on defense is whether they can stop the run. Los Angeles didn’t have a single rusher go over 100 rushing yards, but they did have Kyren Williams go for 99 rushing yards, and Blake Corum recorded 93 rushing yards, with both players each having a rushing touchdown.
If the Raiders want to snap their four-game losing streak, this aspect of their defense will need to improve heading into Week 8 against a bad Jets team.
“We just didn’t get into any situation to help ourselves; we started slow,” Crosby said. We wanted to start fast, but they played with the lead the whole time. They had almost zero drop-back passes, and we wanted to rush them, but we didn’t get many opportunities.
“But it starts with us, so we have to be able to stop the run. I have to watch the film, but overall, it wasn’t good enough at all. We couldn’t stop the run, and it’s really disappointing. We have to learn from it and get better from it real fast.”
Maxx Crosby Sends Clear Message After Raiders’ Fourth Straight Loss