The Las Vegas Raiders are looking to bounce back in Week 5 after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs. Standing in their way are the New England Patriots, who enter the matchup fresh off a big win over the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 4.
At 2-2, New England has a chance to move above .500, while the Raiders are trying to prevent their loss to Kansas City from becoming a two-game slide. Containing Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will be a major part of that effort.
Maye gave Buffalo’s defense plenty to handle in Week 4, completing 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He finished the game with a 97.7 passer rating.
Ahead of the game on Oct. 11, Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby shared his thoughts on facing Maye as the Silver and Black get to see the Patriots’ star for a second straight year after defeating New England last season.
“He’s a great player,” Crosby told reporters on Oct. 7. “We got to play him last year in Week 1. We’ve seen the improvement from then. He’s just gotten better and better, and he’s a really young, really good player in this league who offers a lot of different challenges. So, we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Maxx Crosby Aware of Drake Maye’s Ability to Use His Legs
Against Kansas City, Crosby recorded three tackles and 0.5 a sack, so he will be looking to improve on that production and wreck the Patriots’ offensive game plan.
Moreover, Crosby is aware that when trying to bring down Maye, he has to account for the quarterback’s ability to use his legs to avoid any pressure from the Raiders’ defense.
“You’ve got to play aggressive for sure, no matter what,” Crosby added. “But we know he’s a threat with his legs. He’s very athletic. He can make a lot of the big throws downfield, and he’s coached really well. Obviously, I know Coach McDaniels and how prepared he gets those guys. So he offers a lot of different challenges for sure. But yeah, Drake Maye, he’s a hell of a player.”
Raiders HC on Facing Patriots QB Drake Maye
Meanwhile, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak shared his thoughts on facing offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and the 24-year-old, who is coming off a Super Bowl appearance last season.
“Everywhere [McDaniels] goes, they move the ball and have Drake Maye playing at a high level,” Kubiak said during the Oct. 6 edition of “1-on-1.” “Obviously, Drake caught a hard time for having a bad game, but he just went and beat Buffalo and played extremely well.
“He’s a player that we have a ton of respect for. [Maye is] very dangerous with his legs, with his ability to throw the ball down the field, and a player that has all of our respect and all of our attention.”
It will be interesting to see how the Raiders bounce back after a tight game against the Chiefs. Nonetheless, the Silver and Black can toe-to-toe with any team, and many should expect them to try to move to 4-1 on the season.
Raiders’ Maxx Crosby Gets Blunt on Drake Maye Before Week 5