If there’s one person who has Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes figured out, it’s Maxx Crosby.
The Las Vegas Raiders defensive end’s career five sacks against Mahomes are the most ever in the regular season. So how does he do it?
Crosby joined NFL GameDay Morning and detailed what makes him so successful against the greatest quarterback (his words) in the game.
“Every time you go and play the Chiefs, you have to have your tracks shoes on,” Crosby said Sunday ahead of the Super Bowl. “You know it’s gonna be a marathon. You’re gonna be running all day long, and I feel like that’s the important thing. He’s gonna try to improvise and make as many plays as possible. On the movement, on the run, he’s not scrambling to take off the front. Majority of the time he’s looking downfield and trying to make a play, so you have to be prepared to run … you gotta be relentless.”
That’s exactly who Crosby is.
Even in the offseason, he’s meal-prepping, he’s rehabbing and training. He doesn’t shut it off. He’s 365, as he explained.
"It's 365. I don't stop… I want to be greatest to do it"
– @CrosbyMaxx pic.twitter.com/xakafyBW4r— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) February 11, 2024
That’s what it takes to take down a two-time Super Bowl MVP. Crosby is also coming off a career-high 14.5 total sacks this season.
“He’s gonna hold the ball and get opportunities,” Crosby continued. “He’s gotta finish.”
Crosby however did say there’s more attention on tight end Travis Kelce these days. Not in the Taylor-Swift way, of course.
“Kelce is still an incredible player,” he said. “He still makes a ton of plays, but they’re running the ball a little more with [Isiah Pacheco] — just a dog, and you know, Andy Reid’s the best of the best. He knows how to adapt to his players and inflate their strength. So the roster has changed a little bit, obviously, Mahomes is, you know, he got his deal, the campaign, the whole line and the receivers the same so they have to find different ways to keep moving in improvement.”
Crosby didn’t take it lightly that he sacks Mahomes as much as he does.
“Miraculously, they still find a way and it’s starts with 15,” Crosby said. “Best quarterback in the league.”
