Raiders report: Maxx Crosby picks up another NFL honor

Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby wants to be one of the best players ever at his position.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate smaller acknowledgments of his success along the way.

Crosby was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday for the fourth time in his career after recording a sack, four tackles for loss and four quarterback pressures in Monday’s 17-13 win over the Packers.

“It’s an honor,” Crosby said. “Every time I go out there, I want to be at my absolute best. I write in my notes every day that it’s me versus me. I try not to pay attention to the outside noise and try to lock in on being the best version of myself every single day.”

Crosby learned of the award a day before it was announced when his agent told his wife, who immediately relayed the news to him.

“Getting recognized for it is awesome, but I’ve already moved way past it,” he said. “I want to be the best. That’s why I work the way I work.”

Crosby leads the team with 19 pressures this season, but his continued improvement in the run game is what has him among the NFL’s elite players at the position. Only the Vikings’ Danielle Hunter and the Bills’ Ed Oliver have more than Crosby’s eight tackles for loss.

“When I came in the league, everybody put me in a box and said he’s a pass rush specialist and he’s this and that, but I want to be able to check every single box,” he said. “Every time I step out there, I have a chip on my shoulder and a point to prove. I have room for improvement on both run and pass, and that’s what I work on every day.”

Crosby acknowledged that some of the criticism from early in his career about his struggles in the run game were fair.

“Early on, I was a skinnier guy and wasn’t setting hard edges every single play,” he said. “I had that style in my college game. I think I had 19 (tackles for loss) my last year. So I was playing in the backfield, but back then I was a lot more unsound and trying to do too much sometimes. That’s something I still have to improve on. Getting better and finding when to take my shots.”

Bragging rights

Monday wasn’t a banner night for Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, but he said it was still memorable because the team won and he played against his brother Anders, the Packers’ rookie kicker, in front of his family.

Daniel Carlson had one field goal blocked and missed another when his 52-yard attempt hit the upright with two minutes remaining in regulation and the Raiders leading 17-13.

“It was really cool to kick against him (in warmups) before the game and at halftime,” Daniel Carlson said. “You do it with all the kickers … but to do it with your brother is just special. Then having all the family and kind of celebrating the fact we made it to this profession … was cool. Then to get bragging rights with a win was the most important.”

The kick that hit the upright was Carlson’s first missed field goal at Allegiant Stadium that hadn’t been blocked and just the third overall in his fourth season playing in the venue.

“I’ve never thought that going into a kick,” he said of losing his streak of perfection. “I would obviously love to have that one back, especially that situation late in the game. But I’m going to miss kicks. It’s not going to be my last one, unfortunately.”

Anders Carlson made field goals of 37 and 22 yards, with no misses.

Injury report

Cornerback Nate Hobbs and wide receiver Davante Adams were listed as nonparticipants on Wednesday’s injury report.

Because the Raiders did not practice, the report is an estimate of how much activity each player would have done.

Hobbs has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. Adams has played through shoulder pain.

Several players were listed as limited. They were receivers Jakobi Meyers (wrist) and Tre Tucker (knee), cornerbacks Jakorian Bennett (shoulder) and David Long (ankle), Crosby (knee) and safety Marcus Epps (knee).

Defensive end Malcolm Koonce and cornerback Amik Robertson were listed as full participants despite knee issues.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.