The Las Vegas Raiders are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, so the team is just playing for respect going forward. The team is winless against the AFC West dating back to last season, and they’re hoping to end that streak against the Denver Broncos in Week 14.
However, it’s looking like the Raiders might be at an even greater disadvantage. Star defensive end Maxx Crosby popped up on the injury report with a knee issue on Wednesday, but was still a limited participant. On Thursday, it was announced that he wasn’t able to practice on Thursday.
That would suggest that the knee is getting worse, not better. Now, it could be the Raiders being cautious. Crosby needs to practice less than anybody on the team.
However, it’s not a good sign that he’ll be able to play. Crosby has dealt with knee issues in the past, and in a lost season, there’s no reason for the Raiders to risk him hurting his knee further.
Crosby won’t care, as he’s always going to play if he thinks he can, but sometimes a team needs to save a player from himself. The Raiders are playing at home, so that’ll make it even more difficult to keep him off the field.
Patrick Graham Talks Broncos
The last time the Raiders played the Broncos, the defense held them to 10 points. The problem was that the offense only scored seven.
The Broncos are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, so the Raiders won’t have an easy time keeping it competitive. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham spoke about facing the Denver offense.
“I think they knew the plan on a short week,” Graham told reporters on Thursday. “I think I spoke about that when we spoke after that, they knew the plan. They were aware of how Coach [Sean] Payton moves around their people; I mean, he’s the best in the business at using his people in their roles. The guys understood that. And I think situationally, we had some really good awareness, situationally.
“Whether it was first and 10, P and 10, the get back on track situations, the red area, we had some awareness there. So, those are all positives. And I’m trying to think back to the tackling numbers. Usually when we play good defense it’s because we tackled better. So, I’m sure, I think the tackling was much improved there, too.”
Brock Bowers Likely Has to Face Pat Surtain
The Raiders don’t have a good wide receiver corps right now, so it’s most likely that the Broncos will use cornerback Patrick Surtain II to cover star tight end Brock Bowers. Surtain is arguably the best cornerback in the NFL, so Bowers will have his work cut out for him.
He had some praise for the Defensive Player of the Year ahead of the matchup.
“He’s a great player obviously,” Bowers said of Surtain, via Raiders.com. “Big, strong, fast, athletic. … I’m excited for the matchup.”
Bowers only had one catch in the first Broncos matchup of the season, but he should be healthier now.
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