No disrespect to Montez Sweat or Cam Jordan, but it’s been a little while since the Minnesota Vikings have drawn a bona fide game-wrecker like Maxx Crosby. Even though the Las Vegas Raiders have one of the more talented wide receivers on the planet in Davante Adams, Crosby is the head of the snake on the scouting report. In a league where elite defense is largely defined by which defensive front can muck a game up quicker and more often, Crosby is a one-man band fully capable of taking matters into his own hands.
Through Week 13, Crosby currently ranks fifth among NFL edge rushers with 64 pressures. He also ranks sixth in the NFL with 11.5 sacks and second throughout the league in tackles for loss (TFL) with 15.
Speaking of the league’s best defenses and their respective fronts, Crosby is a true outlier, and for all the right reasons. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys implement a steady rotation for their elite defensive lines, largely because those three teams have a surplus of dudes who need to get on the field at various points of the game. Even with the stockpile of talent those teams have, they still lean on their anchors up front. Below are the percentage of snaps for their respective alphas along their front four.
- Nick Bosa: 79%
- Josh Sweat: 77%
- Micah Parsons: 81%
Crosby leads all NFL defensive linemen with a 97% snap share.
Crosby is truly one of one at a position that requires arguably more energy, physicality, and toughness on a per-snap and per-game basis than any other in the sport. When they say he doesn’t take plays off, it’s fully intended to be taken literally and figuratively. Crosby’s relentless motor is the biggest differentiator from the other handful of true game-wreckers in the NFL today.
Per Pro Football Focus, Crosby operates as the weak-side defensive end 82.6% of the time. That allows him more opportunities to be isolated against offensive tackles while operating out of a wide-nine position. Simply put, whichever side the in-line tight end is positioned, Crosby will likely be on the opposite side.
Because of this tendency, Kevin O’Connell will likely prefer to play on his terms by leaving left tackle Christian Darrisaw isolated without tight end help to his side. That way, the Vikings can remain confident in their ability to run the offense with this best-on-best matchup between Darrisaw and Crosby. If O’Connell sticks with giving a higher percentage of tight end help to Brian O’Neill‘s side and Crosby chooses to operate out of the left edge rusher position, that just means O’Neill will have added support in preventing Crosby from wrecking the game.
If O’Neill’s performance against Montez Sweat and the Bears in Week 12 is any indication, O’Neill could certainly use the help this week. O’Neill allowed six pressures and a disastrous 16.7% pressure rate against the Bears on Monday Night Football. Sweat recorded seven pressures and 1.5 sacks against the Vikings in Week 12. According to PFF, the six pressures that O’Neill gave up against Chicago was the most he’s allowed in a single game throughout his storied career.
If there’s one thing the Vikings can control in this matchup against Crosby and the Raiders, it’s limiting the number of offensive plays where O’Neill is isolated without tight end help. Because if O’Connell dares Crosby to beat O’Neill too many times in isolated matchups, that should be considered an open invitation for Crosby to singlehandedly take over the game by way of TFLs, pressures, and/or strip sacks.
While that may come off as a shot toward O’Neill following his play against the Bears, the truth of the matter is that the Vikings have a superior option at left tackle with Darrisaw. And Minnesota’s offense would be in a noticeably better position by consistently funneling Crosby to Darrisaw’s isolated side by regularly putting in-line tight end help to O’Neill’s side. And after what transpired against the Bears, O’Connell may be forced to ask T.J. Hockenson to chip-release more often than he did in Week 12.
Sometimes in life and in football, the easiest answer is right beneath our nose. Considering that Crosby is the one player who can ruin the game for Minnesota’s offense on Sunday, don’t even try it with No. 98 in black. I’m not saying they can’t run the ball at him a time or two. And if they feel like they’ve got a good look, maybe they sneak in a play-action bootleg or a rollout Crosby’s way. But O’Connell and the offense would probably be better off consistently attacking the side of the field where Crosby isn’t lined up. If they can do that, the Vikings should feel plenty good about their chances of leaving The Death Star with a victory on Sunday.
