The Las Vegas Raiders made waves this week by putting its two, and only, stars on injured reserve ahead of the final two games that will decide the 2026 NFL draft order. Tight end Brock Bowers and edge rusher Maxx Crosby were shut down from a consequential battle for the top draft pick against the Giants and a Week 18 game against Kansas City due to nagging knee injuries. Bowers had scored four touchdowns over the past five weeks for a team that doesn’t score many points. Crosby is a human wrecking ball who has amassed 28 tackles for loss this season. He’s the player that causes opponents to lose sleep. Both Bowers and Crosby were recently named to the Pro Bowl despite their nagging injuries. Bowers stepped away quietly. Crosby did not.
A fuming Crosby left the Raiders facility Friday. The next day he sent a message to the organization by posting videos of himself playing basketball with his young daughter. He did not appear particularly injured.
Earlier in the week, when reporters asked Crosby about the stakes of the upcoming battle between the 2-14 Raiders and 2-14 Giants, his response was no surprise.
“I don’t give a fuck about the pick, I don’t play for that,” Crosby said. “That’s not my job. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world, and that’s what I focus on every day. And being a great leader and being an influence and being that guy on a consistent basis for my team.”
Crosby didn’t care that the game was a joke among the football zeitgeist, some dubbing it The Toilet Bowl or The Tank Bowl. He just wanted to do Maxx Crosby things.
There is no official way to confirm whether the Raiders are trying to tank. Crosby’s saga doesn’t help the organization’s case. Though it’s not like Crosby is the only competitor. A 74-year-old Pete Carroll isn’t there to secure the Raiders future. These are professional football players. Maybe Crosby wants it the most, but they want it too. Even journeyman Geno Smith seemingly wants to win.
All the Raiders won in an embarrassing 34-10 loss to the Giants is pole position in the NFL Draft. For many, that’s a thrilling win. But walking into Allegiant Stadium with no Crosby and Bowers and exiting with the top pick in the draft only fueled the tank conspiracy theorists.
The offensive line was terrible. Special teams was terrible, and seemingly asleep on a Giants 95-yard kickoff return that pretty much sealed the game for New York. Geno Smith was terrible, tossing two interceptions. The defense was terrible, or depending on full your glass is, the Giants’ play calling was effective and executed by potential franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The Raiders and Giants did not look like teams with the same record who were playing with the same intensity. Simply put, the Raiders were outcoached and outplayed.
Perhaps having Crosby would have helped a bit. A defensive leader who plays with a unique level of heart is certainly a great add.
But the problem with the Raiders and the whole tank theory is the team and organization is atrocious. Even with Crosby and Bowers, this is a team that has won two games. Two. They are currently on a 10-game losing streak. You can’t win a football game with one elite player on both side of the ball. What about the other ten players? In true Raiders fashion, the only other offense player contending for elite status plays the same position as Bowers, Michael Mayer.
There is just so little to be excited about in this iteration of the Raiders. Carroll’s coaching has been uninspired. Knowing he has a backup to Ben Johnson, who minority owner Tom Brady failed to secure, is even more frustrating. Firing Chip Kelly did nothing to spark the offense. Despite his talent and obvious upside, drafting Ashton Jeanty in the first round when the rest of your roster is so devoid of talent has only added to the pile of problems.
And now, the Raiders have stoked the beast that is Crosby. Quality organizations handle these discussions privately and somehow, some way present a united front with their star player.
Because the inept Raiders failed to do so, no one would be surprised if Crosby demands a trade in the offseason. Then edge rusher would be yet another hole this team needs.
Tank or terrible? Does it really matter?
MVP of the week
Yeah, the Pats were facing the hapless Jets. Yeah, the Jets defense is historically bad (still zero picks on the season). But the Jets are still technically a professional football team playing at home, and the Pats had some business to attend to. Clinch the AFC East with a win and Bills loss. Stay in contention for the AFC’s No 1 seed. Check and check, thanks to an out-of-this-world day by Drake Maye.
Maye led the Pats offensive onslaught, throwing for 256 yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers, while completing, get this, 90% of his passes. One of those completed passes was a masterclass in mossing by Stefon Diggs, who also had a sensational day and helped Maye set an NFL record. He became the first player in NFL history to top 250 yards and a 90% completion rate while throwing five touchdowns. Maye also surpassed 4,000 passing yards on the season and remained undefeated on the road. Beautiful deep balls, veins of ice, shrewd decision making, only 23-years-old. Perhaps this is just the beginning of another Patriots dynasty. But for now, can you hear those M-V-P chants?
Video(s) of the week
“My biggest concern is the health and safety of the players”
— Eagles Fan Central (@PhilaFanCentral) December 29, 2025
- Sean McDermott on wanting the Tush Push banned
pic.twitter.com/N2WdXkeTgH
BILLS GO FOR TWO! EAGLES SAY NO! pic.twitter.com/SA2z2TzA0D
— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2025
Buffalo were on the brink of losing, until they were on the brink of winning (or at least tying).
The Eagles did their usual Jekyll and Hyde act, roaring out to a 13-0 lead in the first half before lying dormant in the second. Philly’s defense dominated early, forcing a first-half fumble that resulted in a Jalen Hurts touchdown pass. They also stopped Josh Allen on a fourth-and-goal attempt early in the second. But the Bills crept back in the second and in the game’ final drive pulled within one after a Josh Allen tush push. Yes, the same tush push the Bills voted to ban last offseason. Despite the Bills owning momentum on both sides of the ball – Jalen Hurts had not completed a second-half pass - Sean McDermott decided to go for two. Vic Fangio’s defense brought the pressure, forcing Allen into an errant throw and incompletion. a 13-12 Eagles win, handing the Patriots the AFC East.
Stat of the week
The Steelers remain winless in Cleveland since 2003 with quarterbacks not named Ben Roethlisberger.
Add Aaron Rodgers to the list. The Browns got off to a fast start 10-0 thanks to a chucked up Shedeur Sanders pass caught by Harold Fannin that the safety oddly didn’t attempt to track. Rodgers, under pressure all day, struggled to generate much offense in a 13-6 loss that could have clinched the AFC North for the Steelers.
The Steelers had plenty of chances in the fourth quarter but failed to score on five straight drives (including a missed field goal after an 8:07 drive). Rodgers was clearly missing the suspended DK Metcalf. On the Steelers final drive, Marquez Valdes-Scantling could not haul in three straight throws in the end zone on 2nd and goal from the 7-yard line.
Sanders was sensational at times, again proving that some nepo babies belong, though he needs to work on eliminating the desperation heaves. Myles Garrett did not break the sack record, though according to NextGen States chipped in on 41% of pass rush attempts.
Pittsburgh’s loss means renewed hope for the Baltimore Ravens who destroyed the Packers 41-24 thanks to Derrick Henry’s 216-yard, four-touchdown onslaught.
The NFL gets its wish: a Ravens-Steelers Week 18 battle for the division.
Elsewhere around the league
• Carolina v Seattle was a classic defensive struggle, at least for a half. The teams went into the break tied 3-3 before the Seahawks blew the game open by capitalising on two straight Panthers turnovers. Seattle’s punishing defense, led by Demarcus Lawrence – who forced and recovered a key fumble – smothered Carolina, which failed to produce a single play longer than 11 yards all afternoon.
The result was a decisive 24-10 road win that keeps Seattle atop the NFC race for the No 1 seed. The Seahawks travel to San Francisco next week, where the winner takes the top seed. The Panthers, meanwhile, head to Tampa Bay in Week 18 with the NFC South title on the line. Win and they are in the postseason. Lose and the season is over.
• The Houston Texans continue to look like the team nobody wants to face in January. After starting 0-3, Houston have now won eight straight and clinched a playoff spot with a gritty 20-16 road victory over the Chargers. The league’s top-rated defense once again set the tone, pressuring Justin Herbert on 38% of his dropbacks and recording five sacks.
CJ Stroud and the offense began fast with two deep touchdown strikes before slipping back into inconsistency, but three crucial first downs on the final possession – aided by a defensive penalty – sealed the win. As has so often been the case during this streak, the game ball belonged to the defense.
• It was another locker-room celebration in Jacksonville after the Jaguars edged the Colts 23-17 in an ugly but compelling contest. The Jags leaned on toughness and Trevor Lawrence’s legs in the red zone to grind out the result, winning their 12th game of the season – a mark they had not reached in 20 years. One more victory will secure the AFC South title, and on current form, Jacksonville look like another playoff opponent best avoided.
• Elsewhere, it appears the cheese-grater hat is no longer the exclusive property of the Chicago Bears. A week after DJ Moore donned one to celebrate a win over Green Bay, several Ravens players followed suit after trolling the Packers in the wake of their own dominant victory. It has been a memorable holiday season for Foam Party Hats, the unlikely beneficiaries of NFL pettiness.
• Finally, Charles Barkley may have had a point when he called the NFL “greedy” for encroaching on Christmas Day. This year’s three-game slate – locked in by Thursday Night Football and immune from flexing – delivered a grim combination of third-string quarterbacks, teams playing their second game in a month-long holiday slog, and football that was often poor and largely meaningless. The schedule-makers may have hoped matchups like Denver v Kansas City or Dallas v Washington would sparkle, but the league’s unpredictability cuts both ways. If Christmas football cannot be made flexible, the NFL might consider handing the day back to the NBA.
