If there’s one NFL player the Detroit Lions salivate over more than anyone else outside of the Motor City, it’s Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders. While Crosby has repeatedly said that he wants to stay in Las Vegas for his entire NFL career, things change, and one can never say never in the NFL.
Crosby would be a perfect fit for the Detroit Lions. The edge rusher is a Michigan native, born and raised in Lapeer, and played football at Eastern Michigan, so this would be a warm homecoming for him. It would be incredible to see Crosby paired with fellow Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, too.
So, Crosby is with the Raiders and has a new head coach in Pete Carroll, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks. How is going over there? Not very well. The Kansas City Chiefs went up against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, October 19, and the result was dismal for the Raiders, with a final score of 31-0.
Maxx Crosby Need to Consider Detroit Lions
Crosby excited the Chiefs game in the first half with back and knee injuries. Crosby also appeared on the injury report before the game, but it didn’t seem like it would get in the way of his performance or abilities. After the loss, Carroll said that the knee that he left the game over was impacting Crosby before the game.
Hopefully Crosby is well again soon, but honestly, with the Raiders now 2-5 after losing to the Chiefs, does he even want to be with Las Vegas anymore?
Right around this time last season, in a feature for Sports Illustrated, Christian Booher and John Maakaron said something interesting about Crosby’s possible “interest” in coming to Detroit.
“According to a source with knowledge of the situation, there is natural interest from Crosby’s side in joining the Lions via a trade,” they stated. So, if the interest was there then, it could be there again. Keep your eye on this one.
Crosby has four sacks this season, according to ESPN. He also came into the matchup against the AFC West rival Chiefs leading the NFL with 10 tackles for loss, according to Pro Football Stats. With Crosby in Detroit, the team’s theme song could be “We Will Rock You.”
Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Lions play the Buccaneers on Monday, October 20, for Monday Night Football. In the NFL’s preview of the game, they discuss the challenges the Lions, and Jared Goff, have against the Bucs’ “stringy” defense.
“The Lions QB leads the league with 14 pass touchdowns and a 75.9% completion percentage entering Week 7,” Christian Gonzales notes in a feature published on Sunday, October 19. “Detroit’s matchup against Todd Bowles’ defense is an intriguing one with Goff being one of the best this season versus the blitz. The Bucs defense has a 35.5 blitz percentage (fifth-highest in the NFL), while Goff leads all QBs with a 137.1 passer rating against the blitz, according to Next Gen Stats.”
So, what does that mean for the Lions? “The Lions have an NFL-high five players with multiple receiving TDs,” Gonzales adds. “And don’t forget the Lions’ lethal running game with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.”
So, the Lions are looking solid heading into this matchup. But, the Bucs are no joke, and they’re currently one of the most feared teams in the NFL.
Colts’ Steichen Not Being Truthful About Daniel Jones
The Indianapolis Colts are one of the surprises in the NFL this year. After putting a 38-24 beatdown on the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, the Colts climbed to 6-1 on the season, lead the AFC South by two games over the Jacksonville Jaguars and are currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
A big reason for the team’s success is quarterback Daniel Jones, who had to beat out the No. 4-overall draft pick in the 2023 NFL Draft Anthony Richardson for the starting job in training camp. He must be doing well, because no one has heard Richardson’s name all season until he hit himself in the eye with a rubber band in pre-game warmups a week ago.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen says he’s not surprised at all by Jones’ success.
“It’s just the preparation that he puts in day in and day out,” Steichen said. “He’s making big-time throws getting us in and out of the right play. We can all feel it, so we take it one day at a time and we’ve got to keep doing it each and every week.”
Steichen thinks Daniel Jones has always been a good quarterback
On the season, Jones has completed 71% of his passes for 1,790 yards, 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions. It’s the kind of efficient football that the Colts were hoping for when they signed him to a one-year, $14 million contract this offseason.
Steichen said on Monday that he’s always thought highly of Jones. Yes, even when he was with the New York Giants.
“I think he’s played well his whole career, to be honest,” Steichen said. “That’s me. When I watched the tape, when I went back and looked at it, I think he’s been a great player this whole time. To get him here and to see the success he’s having with the guys that we’ve got, it’s not a surprise to me right now at all.”
I know that’s easy to say, but c’mon.
If we extrapolate Jones’ numbers into a full 17-game season, Jones is on pace to throw for roughly 4,355 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Don’t lie, you’d never have guessed that in August.
Daniel Jones’ teammate says his confidence sets the tone
Jones has always had the physical tools to be a good quarterback. He wasn’t a first-round draft pick for nothing. It always seemed like he just needed some success (and any good players outside of Saquon Barkley) to give him a confidence boost.
“When your quarterback’s playing with a confidence level that high, I think everyone in the offense feels it,” Colts center Tanor Bortolini said. “And I think as an offense, that gives us more confidence as a whole to go out there and know that no matter what they do, if we go out there and do our jobs, we go out there and execute, we’re going to score every drive.”
The team’s record would back Bortolini up on that. And there isn’t really a reason to believe that the winning won’t continue when they host the powerhouse Tennessee Titans this weekend. The Titans may want to just save the airfare and hotel expenses and call it a day.
