Chiefs' Mahomes: 'High Level of Respect' Between Him, Raiders' Crosby

Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have become nemesis on the field, but the three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback is able to give credit where it's due.

Dec 25, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) greets Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) after a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have formed a rivalry within the rivalry that is Raiders vs. Chiefs.

The friction became recognized in Week 5 of the 2022 season when the two had a heated exchange that capped off some chippy encounters throughout the contest.

Crosby is known to do a little extra to get in the heads of opposing quarterbacks, and in this particular contest, he did anything he could to rattle the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback.

While these two have grown synonymous with one another as on-field foes when their teams meet, outside of the lines, there's a mutual respect.

Both players are arguably the league's most competitive players at their respective positions, and when you have two players who want to succeed as badly as these two, things are inevitably going to get hostile. It's the spirit of the game.

From one competitor to another, though, Mahomes appreciates Crosby's game.

"It's a high level of respect," Mahomes told reporters this week. " ... I mean, everybody's good in this league. It's about who's going to do the extra thing, the extra step, the extra pass rush or the extra throw, whatever it is to make sure that their team has a better chance to win, and he's one of those guys. When we're on the field, we're going to compete because that's the type of guys that we are, but we have a ton of respect mutually between each other off of it."

Mahomes has undoubtedly been on the better end of the rivalry, having a 10-2 record against the Raiders. And of course, Kansas City has owned the entire AFC West for nearly a decade, as it rides an eight-year streak as division champs (six with Mahomes as QB1).

It seemed the Raiders might have been in store for a turn of the tides when they defeated the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas Day last season, but since then, Kansas City has gone on to win a second straight Super Bowl title and hasn't lost a single game. The Raiders, meanwhile, missed out on the postseason yet again and currently sit at 2-5 on the 2024 season.

Nonetheless, we could be in for another epic clash between these two teams on Sunday in what will be the next chapter of one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.

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