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The Las Vegas Raiders need to focus on shutting down the Indianapolis Colts‘ run game. By doing so, they can force starting quarterback Daniel Jones to carry the offense through the air.
If the former New York Giants quarterback needs to make more passes than expected, the Raiders‘ pass rush could make things uncomfortable for him. In Week 4, the Los Angeles Rams picked off Jones twice and also recorded two sacks.
Despite losing to the Chicago Bears, Maxx Crosby showed he can impact a game by himself, especially early on. If Crosby has his motor going, that will be the key to making Jones uncomfortable, which could lead to sacks and potential turnovers.
Ahead of the Week 5 game, Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter stated that his unit will have their hands full preventing Crosby from wrecking their game plan.
“I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to describe it,” Cooter said (h/t Raiders.com). “[Crosby is] a force on the field; he’s one of the best players in the league. He has been for several years; he’s an excellent, excellent football player.
“He plays just about every single down of the game, and he plays at maximum intensity every single down he’s out there; he competes to and through the whistle.”
Colts Are Up for the Challenge of Facing Raiders’ Maxx Crosby
Despite having a significant amount of respect for Crosby, Cooter states that his offensive group are ready for the challenge that comes with facing an elite pass rusher.
If we weren’t playing against him, he’s a pleasure to watch play football,” Cooter added. “He’s just a great, great football player. But we are playing against him this week, so we’re excited for the challenge and we’re aware of the challenge.
“Like I said, he’s one of the best players in football for a reason, and I think our guys are excited to go up against him. But yeah, it’s impressive to watch him fly around and make plays and defeat blocks and make sacks and interceptions and fly over the top of piles or around blocks or swim blocks. He’s got a lot of different tools at his disposal for wreaking havoc.”
Raiders’ Pete Carroll Talks Facing Daniel Jones
Las Vegas will need to take note of what the Rams did and try to mirror it on defense to make things tough for Jones again. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll outlined what the defense must do to put Jones in another difficult spot.
“The new guy is Daniel Jones in this thing, and he has really thrived with the people around him in the system that they’re running,” Carroll said. “[Shane Steichen is] doing a great job getting him off to a fantastic start.
“I know his confidence is high. He got roughed up a little bit last week with a couple of picks, but they have seemed to put it together really well, and they’ve been wide open, which is why they’ve caught people off guard…
“We’re going to try to make it hard on them. They have used their play-action game so extensively, more than maybe anybody in the NFL, right at the top. That’s been a real benefit to them because of Jonathan Taylor being back there.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He previously covered the league for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has contributed as a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He also served as an editor for Athlon Sports and Heavy Sports focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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