Raiders' DE Calls Panthers Loss 'Wake-Up Call'

The Las Vegas Raiders lost its home opener to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon. Star defensive end Maxx Crosby spoke on the disappointing defeat and his potential injury.

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) looks on during the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders did not show up on either side of the ball in Sunday's 36-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers in the home opener at Allegiant Stadium.

All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby addressed the media regarding the team's loss and his injury status.

“I don't know, there's a lot of things," Crosby said when asked on what needs to be fixed. "We gotta watch the film, just wasn't good enough. Just a bad loss, I mean s---ty, didn't play our best football”

The Raiders could not find a way to move the football, rushing for just 55 total yards and having to punt five times on twelve total drives with two turnovers and a missed field goal resulting in just 22 points of offense.

It was also the worst defensive game for the Raiders, allowing 437 yards of total offense to the lowest-scoring team in the league. The Panthers scored points on seven of their 11 drives.

"It's the NFL, if you don't play your best, you're not ready to go," Crosby said. "I don't know what to attribute that to, it's a full roster of guys so we got to a lot of people have to look in the mirror, everybody's got to continue getting better. It's not the end of the world, but it's a wake-up call. We got to be better, period, I mean simple as that."

Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton gashed the Raider defense for 319 passing yards and three touchdowns. Dalton was in a backup role after starter Bryce Young was benched after Week 2. Running back Chuba Hubbard also thrived on the ground and in the air with 169 all-purpose yards.

“They started the game early doing a lot of quick game, they got the run going, and we didn't do a good enough job against the run, which made it more manageable on third down, which didn't help us," Crosby said. "So there's a lot of things, but they did a good job, they made some crazy catches, [Adam] Thielen had a hell of a catch in the end zone, the one I where I got a hit on [Andy] Dalton, he threw the ball, I didn't even know it was a touchdown. I got smashed and literally thought it was incomplete, I had no idea, unfortunately. They made some plays but you got to give them credit, Andy’s been a pro-bowler in this league, he played well so gotta give him credit.”

Crosby was kept fairly silent on Sunday as the Panthers allowed him to just three tackles, two of them being stuffs at the line of scrimmage. He continues to deal with a high-ankle injury from last week against Baltimore that kept him limited this week.

“I mean it sucks, it's unfortunate," Crosby said. "I hurt it literally [on the] second to last play in Baltimore. Just part of the game though, you know what I mean, every time I go out there I'm going to try to be out there with my teammates so if I'm 100% or 50%, that doesn't affect if I'm going to go out there.”

The Raiders prepare for their second-straight home game as they welcome the struggling Cleveland Browns to Las Vegas in Week 4. Crosby and company will seek a stronger and more focused performance, next Sunday.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and IG @HondoSr and never miss another breaking news story again. Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.