Here's something you may find surprising: Maxx Crosby, the Las Vegas Raiders' formidable pass rusher, is cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. Crosby, who has seen his team lose 80% of games against the Chiefs in his career, is rooting for his AFC West rivals to score another Lombardi Trophy.
Crosby's reasoning is quite strategic. "Selfishly, I want the Chiefs to win so we can be the ones to take them down and take them off that pedestal," Crosby shared with NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano and Brian Baldinger on a recent Wednesday.
Since his NFL debut in 2019, Crosby has been a persistent nuisance for Kansas City, having sacked their quarterback five times in 10 games, four of which were in the last two seasons. In fact, the Raiders even managed to upset the Chiefs on Christmas Day in Kansas City. However, the Raiders' overall record in Crosby's career against the Chiefs stands at a paltry 2-8.
Despite these defeats, Crosby has nothing but respect for the Chiefs. "I take it really personal," Crosby admits. "I've got the ultimate respect for Mahomes and Chris Jones and all those guys, but they're the ones standing in our way. So, we're looking forward to seeing them again next season."
Next season, the Raiders will continue under the leadership of head coach Antonio Pierce, who stepped in for Josh McDaniels midway through the 2023 season. Crosby has expressed his support for Pierce, who managed to win over the locker room during a challenging time last season.
For the Raiders to consistently beat teams like the Chiefs and ascend to the AFC's summit, Crosby believes in complete adherence to the 'Raiders Way'. "I want everyone to walk in this building excited to come out here and get to work," Crosby says. "And we're going to have fun. We're going to obviously work hard, but we're going to have fun while we do it. That's what being a Raider is, we're going to do it our way. There are 31 teams, there's one Raiders, and we're going to do it our way, and we're going to embrace that."
