Key Matchups: The mission is clear. Raiders must find a way to contain Josh Allen

Oct 15, 2026 at 04:18 PM

Digital Team Reporter

The Las Vegas Raiders are looking to rebound back at home, coming off a disastrous showing against the New England Patriots in Week 5.

With a great desire to get back to their winning ways that started the 2026 season, it will be a quite the task against the 4-1 Buffalo Bills. Through five games, the Bills offense is tied with the Detroit Lions in points scored per game (32.8), ranks first in rushing touchdowns (13) and ranks second in total offensive yardage (1,981).

"You've got to get first downs to stay on the field. So, going three and out and punting the ball back is not the way to go," Klint Kubiak said of facing the Bills. "You've got to sustain drives. A big part of sustaining drives is not being one-dimensional. So, that's a part of our team that we got to improve."

As the Raiders put together their game plan for Sunday, the Bills quarterback is the obvious X-factor. Let's take a look at two defensive players who could play a big part in the contest.

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Maxx Crosby vs. Josh Allen

Can you guess who the first quarterback was that Maxx Crosby sacked in his collegiate career?

Ten years ago, the Eastern Michigan Eagles were hosting the Wyoming Cowboys in a Week 4 matchup. On the Cowboys' first drive of the game on third down, their quarterback Josh Allen dropped back for the pass and was met with immediate pressure. As Allen stepped in the pocket and tried to scramble, Crosby shed his block and wrapped him from behind, securing a half sack as his teammate Chris Hendricks also came in to clean things up.

At the time, both Crosby and Allen were relatively unknown players.

Allen had transferred in from Reedley College, a community college in California, two years prior. In his first season as Wyoming's full-time starter, he was named Second-Team All-Mountain West Conference with 35 total touchdowns. Though there were question marks surrounding his accuracy and the level of competition he played in college, his athletic and physical traits were still appealing enough for the Buffalo Bills to draft him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

The following year, Crosby was drafted in the fourth round by the Raiders with opposite concerns. While Crosby's college production consisted of 20 sacks, scouts questions if his lanky frame would translate at the next level.

Fast forward a decade, and now Allen and Crosby are respectively among the best at their positions in the NFL.

Crosby, now a five-time Pro Bowler, is considered the heart and soul of the Raiders defense. He ranks top 10 among edge rushers in pass rush win rate (27%) despite being double teamed on nearly half his pass rushing snaps, per ESPN Analytics.

"What makes him so good is his motor," Allen said. "He's extremely relentless. He's never out of the play. He's on the field dang nearly every snap too. He's an ultimate competitor and a guy that you have to understand where he's at at all times."

As for Allen, the 2024 NFL MVP, he ranks second in the league in rushing touchdowns (eight) while having thrown for 1,249 yards and seven touchdowns through five games. In the Bills' Week 5 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Rams, Allen posted 210 passing yards, 121 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.

Going into his fourth matchup against Allen, collegiately and professionally, the quarterback's year-by-year improvement has been evident to Crosby.

"[J]ust seeing how far he's come as a player, he's been impressive," Crosby. "Great competitor and a guy that you got to be at your best."

"I talk about this all the time, but if you put the work in, put the time in, you start doing laps around people," he added. "If you do it for a year, and then three years and five [years] and you just consistently work on your game, all the work you do in the dark is going to come out in front of everybody. And I think he's a testament of that. I give him a lot of credit."

And in case you were wondering, Allen was driving down the field late in that 2016 matchup to either win or tie the game against the Eagles. Crosby and his defensive line flushed Allen out the pocket, forcing him to throw an interception.

Eastern Michigan came away with the 27-24 victory, on a field that now bears Crosby's name.

Familiar foe for Taron Johnson

The same year that the Buffalo Bills drafted Josh Allen with their first-round pick, they drafted cornerback Taron Johnson three rounds later.

For eight seasons, Johnson made his presence felt. Playing in multiple spots within the Bills secondary, he racked up six interceptions, eight forced fumbles, eight sacks and 23 tackles for loss in his time there. He was named Second-Team All-Pro in 2023 and appeared in 15 playoff games.

This offseason, the 30-year-old was traded to the Raiders and immediately assumed the role of starting nickelback. His production in the Silver and Black has included two pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. But more importantly, he's brought veteran leadership to a young secondary.

"Poise, leadership, instincts, communication," defensive coordinator Rob Leonard said of what Johnson brings to his unit. "He walks through like Maxx, like it's a game. Everything's very locked in, very focused. There's no nonchalant. So, he's been awesome."

This will notably be Johnson's first game against his former team and an explosive Bills offense.

"[Allen] is a really good quarterback, one of the best in the league," Johnson said. "So, that's definitely going to be a challenge. Just his combination of how he can run, how he can pass the ball. It's going to take all 11 to defend him."

Considering the thousands of practice reps he's stacked up against many of the players still on the Bills roster, does that give him the advantage going into this game?

"I don't know if I have an edge, you know what I'm saying?" Johnson said. "We're gonna see when we play them."

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Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Cody Lindenberg (55) before practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.