The Las Vegas Raiders gave their fans another downright embarrassing offensive showing in Week 15 against the Atlanta Falcons at Allegiant Stadium. This contest in particular was a bit different, however; for more reasons than being without Maxx Crosby. This time, Sin City did it on national television for everyone to see during Monday Night Football.
Right when it seems the Raiders’ offense can’t possibly get any worse, the unit ascends to a new level of ugly.
Be that as it may, the defensive side of the ball didn’t let offensive woes hold them down. Even without All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas’ defense did everything in their power to make Monday night’s contest a fight.
The defensive line, especially.
Defensive tackles Adam Butler and Jonah Laulu, in addition to edge rusher Tyree Wilson, each got into the sack column as they took Kirk Cousins down a combined three times. Although K’Lavon Chaisson didn’t officially get credited with a half-sack, he met Laulu at Cousins to help secure the Raiders’ first sack of the night.
All four of those defensive linemen were responsible for multiple pressures during their Week 15 contest.
Each of the three who posted a sack on Monday night helped out against the run, too. Butler, Laulu and Wilson not only got to the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage, but each took down a runner for a loss of yardage as well.
Wilson led the pack in that regard with not one, but two tackles resulting in negative yards for the Falcons’ offense. For Wilson, the second-year pass-rusher from Texas Tech, this marks his fourth contest of the season where he logged at least one sack and tackle behind the line of scrimmage. For reference, he achieved this feat zero times in 2023.
Las Vegas Raiders: Taking advantage of opportunity without Maxx Crosby
Two young, potential-loaded edge rushers have been competing for time on the field in Sin City as the season rolls on: Tyree Wilson, and K’Lavon Chaisson. They’ve both brought out the best in each other, and as such, are both stringing together a tremendously more impressive campaign than they have in any other season in the National Football League.
Of course, it’s much easier to find success when you have an All-Pro on the other side of the defensive line. What happens when that All-Pro pass-rusher is taken out of the picture?
The two were presented with that dilemma in Week 15, and answered accordingly.
While it certainly always helps to have a player of Crosby’s stature on the other side of the line, Wilson and Chaisson made it clear that they can produce without their All-Pro teammate making life easier for them. As did Butler and Laulu, for that matter.
With Crosby sidelined for the remainder of the season, the Raiders’ younger pass-rushers have an opportunity to prove they can cause havoc regardless of if their All-Pro teammate is there to help or not. They did just that in Week 15, against an Atlanta Falcons’ offensive line that ranked 14th-best heading into the week via Pro Football Focus’ weekly O-line rankings.
If that continues through the final three weeks of the season, all eyes will be on the Raiders’ defensive line entering their ’25 campaign—assuming players stick around, that is.
Currently, Chaisson and Butler are both working on deals that expire once the season ends. They’ve played well enough to earn extensions, however. Whether they’ll want to stick it out with Las Vegas or not remains unanswered.
*Top Photo: Jordon Kelly
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