The Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs arguably are the most bitter rivals in NFL history. Their rivalry dates back to 64 years ago when the AFL was formed. Since then, the Raiders and the Chiefs have been in the same division adding fire to their rivalry. While tensions are always high when these two teams collide, the results in this fixture have made this rivalry a one-sided affair.
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To put things into perspective, the Raiders have never topped the AFC West since 2002. Raiders’ performance against the Chiefs has only gotten worse since Patrick Mahomes joined the Chiefs. Raiders defensive stalwart Maxx Crosby was the main man behind their victory against the Chiefs last season. He displayed a violent streak to stop the QB and in his latest presser with Vegas Sports [via Dov Kleiman]; the DE iterated the same.
Crosby openly admitted that for the Raiders to win, they have to take down Mahomes. Even if it means playing the game violently and making extremely physical challenges; Crosby is ready as he wants to win no matter what. They’ll perhaps stick to this strategy next season as well, as Crosby said,
“If we wanna win, we gotta take him down. He knows I’m coming for him…it’s not malicious…we play the game the right way but we play with ill intent and we play violent…”
As per Stat Muse, in Mahomes’s 12 matches against the Raiders, the Chiefs QB has enjoyed an incredible success rate of 10 wins against 2 losses. The QB has been the destroyer of the Raiders’ Defence with a passer rating of 109.6 with 3,573 yards, 30 TDs, and 4 interceptions in 12 games. Safe to say, stopping Mahomes is the way to beat the Chiefs and the Raiders realized this when they beat the Chiefs in their most recent encounter in December last year.
Interestingly, Crosby’s comments mirror the sentiments shared by HC Antonio Pierce a fortnight earlier. Two weeks ago, HC Antonio Pierce appeared on The Rush Podcast where he was quipped about how he stopped Patrick Mahomes in their recent encounter. Pierce replied by saying that just like the Detroit Pistons had the Jordan Rules for Michael Jordan, the Raiders also developed the Mahomes rules.
For those out of the loop, the Jordan Rules was a defensive strategy where the defenders would get extra physical with Jordan, double or triple mark him and constantly push him to an uncomfortable position in play to make him lose the ball. Coach Pierce wanted to do the same with Mahomes and luckily for him, the move played out.
“You got the Jordan Rules… we got the Patrick Mahomes Rules… I showed the Raiders Jordan getting his a** whooped.”
While Crosby & Pierce did win the battle against Mahomes; the QB won the war by lifting the Super Bowl. Fans online didn’t fail to remind Crosby of this after his “we play violent” comment.
Patrick Mahomes Took Home the Lombardi Despite Maxx Crosby’s Efforts
The first and foremost reaction by Chiefs fans to Crosby’s comments was reminding him of Kansas winning the Super Bowl. Other Chiefs fans also felt that he shouldn’t have openly said this as Kansas might use this as motivation this season.
Amidst the criticism, a section of NFL fans defended Crosby. They argued that football is a tough game and this is a valid tactic as long as no one gets injured.
One KC Chiefs fan was fed up with the constant dig at Mahomes by Crosby & Co. and asked them to talk about their own QB at times.
All said and done, all these comments and strategies prove the greatness of Patrick Mahomes. KC Chiefs HC Andy Reid in a recent presser also acknowledged the same and showered praises on the QB. HC Andy Reid in his latest appearance at the Rich Eisen Show highlighted the commitment levels of Mahomes. Reid reveals that he keeps on pushing himself and trains constantly.
“Mahomes is phenomenal. I get to deal with him every day and he is as great as he seems to the outside world every day. And the kid wants to be great every day.”
As per Reid, Mahomes’ biggest trait is his ability to maximize his potential by giving his all. The HC expressed his gratitude for getting to work with Mahomes at this juncture of his career and was proud of the QB.
