The Las Vegas Raiders are hoping to break their AFC West losing streak against the Denver Broncos in Week 14. They have lost 10 straight games against divisional opponents, which is the longest active streak in the NFL.
The Raiders have been banged up all season, but defensive end Maxx Crosby continues to be reliable. However, he popped up on the team’s injury report and wasn’t at practice on Thursday or Friday. That led to concern that he’d have to sit out the game vs. the Broncos.
Luckily, that won’t be the case. Head coach Pete Carroll revealed that Crosby will be ready to go.
“Maxx is going to play,” Carroll told reporters on Friday. “I can’t believe not playing. We really wanted to maximize the rest opportunity here. He’s planning on playing.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news. Carroll also said that tight end Michael Mayer won’t be able to play, and he was officially ruled out. This will be the fourth game that he has missed this season. Rookie wide receiver Dont’e Thornton was also ruled out with a concussion. His rookie season has been a disappointment, but the Raiders are already weak at wide receiver. Additionally, wide receiver Alex Bachman won’t be playing.
Jonah Laulu Draws Praise From Teammates
The Raiders’ defensive line has struggled this year, but one player who has shown some promise is defensive tackle Jonah Laulu. He’s second on the team with 4.0 sacks and has a bright future.
He’s been impressing his teammates.
“He’s getting more instinctual,” defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV said, via Raiders.com. “That allows him to play more fluid, and allows him to make more plays because he’s seeing things more quickly and he’s playing more calm. I think that happens to all of us as the year goes along – you play more football, your muscle memory’s going up and as a result, it allows you to play with instincts and not thinking.
“Every elite athlete is better when he’s playing and not thinking.”
Laulu Talks Playing in Front of Hometown
Laulu is a Las Vegas native, so he was really excited about the chance to play for the Raiders. He described what it was like the first time he got to play at Allegiant Stadium.
“First is a surge of excitement,” Laulu said. “You’re filled with energy. Excited. Happy. Getting to the quarterback, especially from the interior, is as hard as it is already. And then you celebrate with your guys and then afterwards, then you get hit with the tired.
“You’re like, ‘Whoa, I’m tired now.’ Maxx even says it himself – because he never gets tired – the only time you get tired is when you celebrate, because you just get so excited.”
Laulu is only 25, and this is just his second season. If he keeps showing that he can make an impact, he has a chance to be a long-term piece for the Raiders. The team really needs impact defenders, so Laulu being a starting-level defensive tackle would be a huge help to the franchise.
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