Raiders’ Crosby earns defensive MVP in AFC win at Pro Bowl

Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said Saturday he wasn’t sure how hard he was supposed to play in his first Pro Bowl appearance.

Turns out he knew only one speed.

In a game in which most of the participants appeared stuck in neutral for most of the first two quarters, Crosby helped spark life into a game that turned somewhat competitive around the two-minute warning of the first half and helped lead the AFC to a 41-35 victory in front of an announced 56,206 fans at Allegiant Stadium.

Crosby had two sacks and three tackles for loss and batted down three passes to win the defensive MVP award on his home field.

The third-year pro knew he couldn’t go through a full game at half speed, especially because the words of Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli kept popping up in his head.

“I had to come out here and put on a show for the fans one last time,” he said. “I didn’t want to injure or hurt anybody, but I still wanted to have some fun and work on my game. No matter what, we’re still in full pads.

“I know Coach Marinelli watched very closely, and he challenged me all week. So I had to go out there and put some good film on tape.”

Most of the players won’t want to replay the action on the field from Sunday.

In a game that featured more interceptions than actual tackles, Crosby made perhaps the most important defensive play by sacking Russell Wilson on fourth-and-2 from the AFC 24-yard line with 5:25 remaining as the NFC tried to mount a comeback.

The NFC got the ball back again and scored to cut the deficit to six points. But Mac Jones connected on a pass to running back Najee Harris on a fourth down after the two-minute warning and then took a knee twice to preserve the victory.

Justin Herbert was awarded offensive MVP for the AFC on the strength of his two touchdown passes, though he completed just seven passes for 98 yards. Tight end Mark Andrews had five catches for 82 yards and two scores in the victory.

The beginning of the game featured several miscommunications between quarterbacks and receivers that led to seven interceptions.

It wasn’t a result of anything the defenses were doing. For the most part, pass rushers would just stand up and stay in place. Ball-carriers essentially were declared down by one-hand touch, though occasionally officials arbitrarily would decide to wait for a player to be wrapped up before blowing the whistle.

Crosby recorded a sack of Kirk Cousins on a third-down play with 1:50 left in the second quarter. The AFC defense followed by forcing an incompletion on fourth down. The NFC sacked Patrick Mahomes on the ensuing possession, with linebacker Micah Parsons forcing a fumble on the final play of the first half.

Even the officials got involved, throwing a flag for an offensive line penalty on the next drive.

Parsons then knocked wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the turf early in the third quarter, briefly stirring up both sidelines.

After the teams combined for 49 points in the first half, only 27 points were scored after halftime as both teams started to focus on the extra $40,000 bonus that would go to the victors.

The AFC, which has won four straight in the series since a tie in 2017, led 41-21 after three quarters. Kyler Murray threw touchdown passes to tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Dalvin Cook in the final 10:24 to make things interesting in the end.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.