Raiders vs. Bengals playoff x-factor: Maxx Crosby vs. Bengals o-line

As we continue looking ahead to Saturday’s Wild Card showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders, we take a quick look at one of the key factors the Bengals’ offense will be facing on Vegas’ defense and a key stat that the Bengals need to be wary of come Saturday.

We know Raiders DE Maxx Crosby has already become one of the better pass-rushers in his three years in the league, totaling 25 sacks in three seasons, including eight this season. Come Saturday, he’ll face the team in which he had one of his best games all season.

Back in Week 11 against the Bengals, Crosby posted a 61.5 percent pass-rush win rate, per ESPN and NFL Next Gen Stats, which was his highest win rate of any game this season. It was also more than double the win rate of his next-highest game, a 28 percent win rate on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys.

Incredibly enough, Crosby did not register a sack in that game, but he did have three tackles and a tackle for a loss. As a team, the Raiders did sack Bengals QB Joe Burrow three times and limited him to just 148 yards and one touchdown. Of course, it was Joe Mixon who saved the day with his 123 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 32-13 win.

“I’m not sure there’s two that are better at affecting the quarterback in the NFL,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “(Crosby and Ngakoue) are always around the quarterback and it’s always a muddy pocket.”

The Bengals need to keep Burrow upright, something they’ve been inconsistent at doing this season, and keep in mind, it’s not just Crosby that will get after the quarterback. Yannick Ngakoue is still a force despite his recent bouncing around the league. Ngakoue posted a team-leading ten sacks in his first season in Vegas. Overall, the Raiders were in the middle of the pack, ranking tied for 20th with the Los Angeles Chargers with 35 sacks. (Cincinnati ranked tied for 11th with the Bills with 42).

Crosby is one of the biggest X-factors in this game, but if the Bengals can keep him in check, they very well could be playing on Divisional Weekend.

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