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Film Breakdown: How Bengals Can Slow Down Raiders Star Pass Rusher Maxx Crosby

Containing the star edge rusher could make all the difference on Saturday.

Mike Santagata

The Bengals’ biggest mismatch in the upcoming Wild Card game is backup right tackle Isaiah Prince going up against Raiders' star pass rusher Maxx Crosby. 

Crosby was selected to the Pro Bowl and leads the NFL in pressures. He’s a nasty pass rusher with a toolbox of moves to utilize to attack offensive tackles in a variety of ways. Crosby can ruin the Bengals' game plan, so they have to be ready for him with a plan in place to slow him down.

Scouting Report

Before we look at how to slow him down, we should breakdown Crosby's skillset and how he wins in the trenches. Everything starts with Crosby’s explosive first step. Due to this, he is constantly able to threaten the tackle’s outside edge. Having a fantastic get-off is the best setup move in pass rushing.

Off of the get-off, he likes to punish tackle's that overset by winning inside. When an offensive tackle pushes too hard to beat him to the spot he takes advantage by working inside of them like this:

With that in mind, we can move to one of his signature moves and why it is so effective. Every pass rusher has a move that they can go to when they need to get a win. For Crosby, that move is this eurospin to the outside.

This works because of his ability to win to the inside. By threatening the tackle's inside with the eurostep, Crosby can force them to underset. This creates a shorter corner for him to go around. To win around the outside after the eurostep, Crosby uses his fantastic agility to spin to the tackle's outside. 

Finally, he ends the rush with an ice pick move which is essentially slamming the elbow into the back of the tackle. This propels him forward while also pushing the tackle in the wrong direction. It's a nasty move and it worked on Riley Reiff multiple times when these teams played on Nov. 21.

These three moves are essential to Crosby's pass rush because he likes to beat the tackle's set. He has a fantastic feel for when tackle's overset or underset. This ability to punish tackle's mistakes is the main way that Crosby wins.

Not only does he have all of those moves, but he's also a powerful pass rusher. This helps him against tackles that sit on their heels in anticipation of the earlier moves.

This bullrush creates a nasty counter move to his main pass rush repertoire. Because of his ability to win with power along with his finesse inside and outside moves, tackles have to be nearly perfect to beat him.

How To Win 1-on-1

How does an offensive tackle handle Crosby one-on-one? Well, it's easier said than done, nevertheless, it is important because you cannot chip a player on every pass play. Sometimes the play requires the right end to be out quick or to push vertically. In these situations, there are a few keys for offensive tackles to follow against Crosby one-on-one.

It all starts with the footwork and hitting your landmarks. By properly hitting your landmarks and not setting too far or too shallow on a play, you will not allow Crosby to attack your set. It’s difficult because Crosby will attempt to force a blunder from the tackle with eurosteps and his get-off.

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This example from Storm Norton is great because it’s not some all-pro tackle like Trent Williams. Norton wins this rep by hitting his landmarks and not biting on any of Crosby’s moves. Once Crosby starts to spin, Norton punches and pushes him outwards.

The next key is to be patient with your hands. Once a tackle tries to punch and starts to lean against him, he can spin or swim off of that. The punch timing has to be very good against Crosby because of his feel for how an offensive tackle is setting.

You can see on this play that Reiff does a good job of hitting his landmarks and being patient with his hands. He does not change his set due to the stutter move that Crosby gives while also waiting until the Raiders' star is within striking distance to throw his punch.

Lastly, a tackle needs to be quick to anchor against him because of his ability to bullrush. As shown in the scouting report, he is long and strong. This may not be the main way that he wins, but he can still punish tackle’s that sit on their heels.

This is another good example from Storm Norton on how to anchor in against Crosby. He is trying to give some moves to force an incorrect set, but when Norton does not change his set, Crosby tries to pound into him and bully him. Norton is quick to drop his hips and anchor against that as well.

On the plays where Prince will be left alone against Crosby, he needs to remember those three keys. Prince needs to hit his landmark with his footwork so that he does not over or underset, be patient with his hands, and quickly anchor when Crosby goes to his bullrush. If he can follow those keys on the 5-10 plays where he will be left alone, then he can have a successful day against Crosby.

Giving Help

Prince should not need to be alone with Crosby for too many plays. The Bengals left Reiff alone with him for a while only to realize that the veteran was outmatched in the game. 

This killed their offense early on against the Raiders, but then they made an adjustment and started to give chips to him. Specifically, the Bengals started to give early chips to Crosby. An early chip is when someone (typically a tight end) will punch and beat on that defensive end prior to him getting to the tackle. This is effective because it limits the end’s get-off, speed, and gives the tackle time to hit their spot and wait for the defensive end.

You can see on this chip from C.J. Uzomah that he essentially takes a pass set against Crosby. This leaves him with nothing to do on the play against the tackle. He then smartly goes around the guard and tries to get pressure that way, but it takes too long and the ball is out. Compare that play with some of the earlier ones where he is able to fire upfield.

This time Uzomah just beats the snot out of Crosby off of the snap. He punches him from the outside and then Reiff starts to punch him from the inside. This beating is the most effective way to stop Crosby because it gets hands on him quick, doesn’t allow him to fire upfield, and will take energy out of him. On this particular rep, Crosby would need to be Superman to win. The play overall goes off of the rails because Burrow feels heat from his left side and then cannot find anyone downfield to throw the ball to, but it had nothing to do with Crosby.

If the Bengals can limit Crosby in this game then they have a good chance of winning. 

This is the biggest mismatch on the field in favor of the Raiders. Prince will need to play well when he is singled up, but they should also give him plenty of help throughout the game. If they can slow Crosby down, then Burrow will be able to pick apart the Raiders' secondary.

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Mike Santagata
MIKE SANTAGATA

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