HENDERSON, Nev. — The “Just Win, Baby” mantra embraces winning at all costs and not worrying about whether it is pretty or not.
And while Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels correctly pointed out that Sunday’s 21-17 win over the New England Patriots “wasn’t a Picasso,” the franchise’s 500th victory was a testament to grit and the defense delivering when it had to do it.
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“The defense, if you look at them these last two weeks, I feel like they are starting to have an identity,” running back Josh Jacobs said Sunday night. “They have been carrying us a little bit and hopefully the offense can catch up to where they are right now.”
The Raiders (3-3) held the Patriots to minus-2 total yards in the first quarter and 259 for the game, the fewest allowed by the Raiders this season and the fewest since Week 16 of 2021 (against the Denver Broncos).
True, the last two wins have come against some stinky offenses in the Patriots and Green Bay Packers, but the Raiders lost these kinds of games to bad teams last season.
“I just feel we’re bonded closer,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said Sunday night. “When you have guys all on the same page and on the same mission, we don’t panic. I got the (roughing the passer) penalty, and they ended up scoring the next play. I felt like I let my team down … and they were like, ‘Bro, don’t worry about it and go get it next play.’ That’s what it’s all about. I got great teammates, we got great dudes in this locker room, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Crosby and the defensive line have been applying pressure, linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo have been holding their own while safety Tre’von Moehrig has led a secondary that is not giving up the big play. The Raiders allowed just one reception of 20-plus yards Sunday, and have only allowed 10 such completions on the season, the fewest in the NFL. Overall this season, the 131 points allowed are the second-fewest for the Raiders since the start of the 2002 season.
McDaniels credits defensive coordinator Patrick Graham for simplifying things this offseason.
“We really just tried to identify what do we really need to be,” McDaniels said Monday morning. “And not what we wished we were, what do we really need to be with the group of players we have and what can make them the most productive.”
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He said the players bought in and no one is trying to do too much.
“It’s the consistency of the approach … and then you sprinkle in a few little wrinkles,” McDaniels said. “But the players have really done a good job of taking ownership with the defense. I feel like we’re playing faster, more sure, more connected. Less big, big errors.
“I just love the way that they’re competing.”
That fire was evident on the game-clinching safety Sunday, when Crosby came around the edge and met defensive tackle Bilal Nichols at the quarterback, with both players crunching Mac Jones for the sack in the end zone.
98 CLOSING IT OUT!!! 🙆♂️#NEvsLV | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/vYGe6wpO7X
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 15, 2023
“I saw (tight end Mike) Gesicki come over to chip, so I knew I had to beat him clean and then it would have given me a chance to win on the edge,” Crosby said. “It’s just working my technique, getting off the ball and finishing, and that’s what happened. And Bilal had a great rush as well.
“Our defense is improving, and I think we’re seeing that every single week.”
While the Raiders clearly missed defensive end Chandler Jones — released after blasting team officials on social media and then being arrested on two charges of violating a domestic violence protection order — the first couple of games, the defensive tackles are starting to pick up the slack. Adam Butler had a sack earlier in the game Sunday, and Jerry Tillery and John Jenkins also helped with a push up the middle.
“Yeah, they did a good job of creating some games and picks for each other,” McDaniels said. “They all showed up to some degree in there. That’s super helpful because the guys on the edge get so much attention. … Whenever there’s something in the face of the quarterback, that always makes everybody’s life a little easier. Those guys have been more and more disciplined as the season has gone on.”
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Crosby has been disciplined to play every single snap the last three weeks, something that no other defensive lineman has done once this season, per Sportradar. And this is with Crosby saying he was battling some minor injuries last week.
McDaniels said Crosby is in fact on a snap count — but it’s for the whole week, including practices, and not just the game.
“We manage the week so that we get the most bang for our buck in the game,” McDaniels said. “If you limit certain things during the course of the week so that you get 60 snaps out of him on game day, then that’s the give and take.
“When we have the ball as much as we did in the first half yesterday, that certainly can alleviate some stress on somebody like that in terms of the snap count getting crazy early in the game. I think we had 40 snaps on offense and 20 on defense in the first half. … Obviously, we’d like him out there as many snaps as he feels good about.”
It’s been well-documented how much Crosby pushes himself, and that definitely won’t change after two straight wins.
“Yeah, no matter if you win or lose, you’ve never got it,” he said. “That’s something I got from Gus Bradley, and it’s the absolute truth. The second you think you got it in this league, that’s when you’re going backwards.”
So, the Raiders didn’t celebrate the win over the Patriots for long.
“I just try to get my guys with me and keep improving,” Crosby said. “Super exciting to get the win, especially at home again. I know the fans love it, so we just got to keep going.”
(Photo of Maxx Crosby and Bilal Nichols sacking Mac Jones for a safety: Jeff Lewis / Associated Press)
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