Given that Maxx Crosby’s Las Vegas Raiders play in the AFC West, you wouldn’t expect him to be rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

However, Crosby is, in fact, pulling for the Chiefs, and he explained why this week.

“Selfishly, I want the Chiefs to win so we can be the ones to take them down and take them off that pedestal,” Crosby said, via Eric Edholm of NFL media.

That certainly makes sense.

Crosby and the Raiders actually defeated Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas, which was a major notch in Las Vegas’ belt in what was otherwise a frustrating season.

But that certainly isn’t enough for Crosby, who wants much more than just one win.

“I take it really personal,” Crosby said. “I’ve got the ultimate respect for [Patrick] Mahomes and Chris Jones and all those guys, but they’re the ones standing in our way. So, we’re looking forward to seeing them again next season.”

Crosby is coming off of a fantastic 2023 campaign in which he played every game and racked up 90 tackles, 14.5 sacks and a couple of forced fumbles en route to his third straight Pro Bowl appearance.

The 26-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Eastern Michigan, was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

He has logged double-digit sacks in three of his five seasons and has notched Second-Team All-Pro honors twice, including this season.

Of course, team success is what Crosby is after the most, and the Raiders have certainly not had a whole lot of that over the last couple of decades.

Perhaps next season will be different for Maxx Crosby and Co.

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