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Versus: A rivalry renewed between Maxx Crosby and Patrick Mahomes

Oct 15, 2025 at 05:36 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

As the Las Vegas Raiders try to build a win streak, they're tasked with going into hostile territory against the defending AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

With the Silver and Black coming off a 20-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans, here are three key matchups to follow in Week 7.

Maxx Crosby vs. Patrick Mahomes

Thanks to season one of the "Quarterback" series on Netflix, this has become of the highest anticipated rivalries in sports between two players.

We all still have the visual of Maxx Crosby head-butting Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs quarterback screaming "I'm here" at the top of the lungs back at Crosby.

Yeah, it was a whole thing.

These two have had their fierce battles over the years, but hold an immense amount of respect for each other. Mahomes has a 27:4 touchdown to interception ratio in games against the Raiders since 2019, the year Crosby was drafted. In that span, Mahomes has posted a 10-2 record against the Silver and Black as well.

Heading into Week 7, Mahomes leads the NFL in offensive yards (1,736) & offensive touchdowns (15).

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"He's as good as you can get. He really is," Pete Carroll said of Mahomes. "He's a fantastic football player, creative and innovative and tough, and he's running like crazy this year, which really just makes him a bigger threat. So, this is as hard as it gets."

Of those two losses Mahomes suffered to the Raiders, they've been both at Arrowhead Stadium. And Maxx Crosby played a big part.

The Raiders edge rusher has sacked Mahomes six times in his career, with a grand total of 14 tackles for loss in games played against the Chiefs. He also currently leads the Raiders in sacks, tied with Jonah Laulu (four), and holds the league-lead in tackles for loss (10).

"A ton of respect," Mahomes told Kansas City media of his rivalry with Crosby. "When I talk to him outside of football, it's like we're friends. You wouldn't even see what happens on the football field. But he's the type of competitor like me. When you get on that football field, it's whatever it takes to win and you're going to leave everything on the football field. I have a ton of respect for that."

Pete Carroll vs. Andy Reid

This Sunday, 448 career wins are walking onto the field between these two head coaches.

Carroll has done it all coaching at every level. He's one of three head coaches to have won a national championship and Super Bowl. His Super Bowl victory with the Seattle Seahawks still stands as the third-most lopsided point-margin in the game's history.

When asked what makes Carroll such a good coach, Andy Reid pointed to a specific characteristic all of Carroll's teams have seemed to possess.

"Toughness. There's a toughness," he said. "He's got a great scheme, too. There's a toughness, and he brings in an energy."

Other than Bill Belichick, no other head coach has more Super Bowl titles in the 21st century than Reid. He's won an AFC Championship in five of his last six seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, not to mention a Super Bowl berth with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004.

Along with Reid's three Super Bowl victories, he's led the Chiefs to nine consecutive AFC West titles.

"Andy's always been a great coach," Carroll said. "He always has been and everywhere he's been. We all get knocked around some during the process of it, but to sustain ... that's remarkable, incredible consistency. And that's because he's got it all in hand. He knows the whole thing. His team plays well in all three phases. They play complimentary football all the time. They've been doing it for the longest time, and it's sustained and it's beyond reproach. You can't even challenge anything that he's done. He's done great."

While Reid has been at the mountaintop of the division for quite some time now, Carroll knows what it takes to build a culture to get there. He's turned around programs at USC and with the Seattle Seahawks, and is now approached with the same task with the Raiders.

In order to do that, he has to go through Reid.

"This is an opportunity against a team that has dominated our division for a long time," Carroll said, "and you have to beat good teams if you're going to be any good, and you have to beat good teams in your division if you're going to be any good. And so, it's a great opportunity for us to play these guys. They're kind of rolling right now."

Jonah Laulu vs. Creed Humphrey

A year ago, Jonah Laulu was trying to find his way on a new team after the Las Vegas Raiders claimed him off waivers.

Now heading into this Week 7 matchup, he's tied with Crosby for the team lead in sacks with four.

Laulu was thrust into a starting role as a rookie due to large amount of injuries across the defensive line in 2024. Now, he's settling into a role that he's earned outright. Through six games, he's racked up 10 solo tackles, six tackles for loss, six quarterback pressures and two pass deflections. While on the field with either Adam Butler or Thomas Booker IV getting double-teamed on nearly 50 percent of all snaps, Laulu has made the most of his one-on-one opportunities on the line of scrimmage.

"He's playing great football," Carroll said. "It's not just size, weight, speed thing, it's his heart, the intensity that he plays with, the technique you saw, great pass rushes over the last couple weeks where he's winning one on ones, and he's doing a tremendous job. The plays we like the most were the perimeter tackles that he made out on the edge, just showing great effort, really complete effort. So, I'm really fired up for him."

The Las Vegas native now faces arguably the best center in the NFL in Creed Humphrey. A three-time Pro Bowler, Humphrey hasn't missed a game in his entire career, with the lowest quarterback pressure rate allowed of any center in the league (min. 100 pass blocking snaps).

While Laulu has five sacks in his career, Humphrey has allowed only sack since 2024.

"With Creed, he's a very smart player and he can move actually pretty good," Laulu said. "Overall, it just makes him a great player. Obviously, he's in the middle of the field, he's the center so he's the heart of the O-line. The guys next to him, I think they just play together really well. And so, we have to take account for that and come up with a good game plan."

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett (15) walks out to the field for practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.