The Las Vegas Raiders dropped their 10th straight game with a 34–10 defeat to the New York Giants on December 28 at Allegiant Stadium. Furthermore, the loss puts the Silver and Black in position to claim the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft if they lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18.
Heading into this game against the Giants, the Raiders were in the No. 2 slot behind New York. Moreover, the Silver and Black made midweek decisions that reduced their chances of winning this game against the Giants.
Las Vegas shut down Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby, and Jeremy Chinn before facing New York. Additionally, it will be interesting to see if other players are shut down before facing the Chiefs.
The reason for weakening their squad isn’t just to get the No. 1 pick; CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco believes that the Raiders want Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
“They are thrilled today that they have the No. 1 overall pick,” Prisco said on the December 28 edition of “CBS Sports HQ.” “They sat Maxx Crosby down. You think he wanted to play today? Of course he did. Why did you sit him down? You’re tanking. You want the No. 1 overall pick. Well, they got it. Right now, they have it.
“You think they’re going to beat the Chiefs next week? No matter what happens, they’re not beating the Chiefs. They want Fernando Mendoza. They’re going to get Fernando Mendoza. They’re going to have the No. 1 overall pick, and they’re going to cure their quarterback problem.”
Raiders Will Have to Handle Maxx Crosby Issue
The only major problem with the Raiders’ tanking strategy is that it upset their star player, Crosby. After being shut down for the campaign due to a knee injury, head coach Pete Carroll announced that Crosby will return to the team facility on December 29.
Nonetheless, according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, Crosby thought that he had the right to play the final two games.
“I’ve been on the phone with Maxx a bunch over the last couple of days and he’s not happy,“ Glazer said on the December 28 edition of “FOX NFL Sunday.“ “He was like, ‘Jay, I play football. This is what I do. I’ve had a knee injury since Week 3 that I’ve played with the entire time. They told me they were shutting me down, I was like, no, absolutely not. I play football. There’s no shutting it down for me. I want to be out there. I want to be out there with my teammates. ‘ It just wasn’t acceptable to Maxx.”
Raiders’ Maxx Crosby Isn’t Looking for Trade Despite Tension
The recent conflict between the Raiders and Crosby over their choice to shut him down has sparked trade rumors. Glazer added that Crosby had previously resisted a trade, but this new situation could alter his stance.
“Remember, at the trade deadline, I said that Maxx Crosby told me that he [didn’t] want to go anywhere, “ Glazer added. “He told the team he doesn’t want to get traded anywhere else. I don’t know if that’s still the case. I think there’s some massaging that still has to happen.”
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