Raiders finally give Maxx Crosby what hes yearning for and the All-Pro delivers

Everything Maxx Crosby had been longing for sat right at his fingertips late in the fourth quarter on Sunday. A game hanging in the balance.A bitter AFC West division rival trying to keep it alive.

A chance to finish the job on the road, in the backyard of Kobe Bryant, one of Crosby’s heroes and the patron saint of moments like this.No need to explain the assignment.Go close.For too much of Crosby’s Raiders career, that opportunity belonged to someone else.Another pass rusher.

Another contender.Someone whose team had done enough over the previous three quarters to make his fourth-quarter greatness matter.Crosby could supply the pressure.

The effort.The relentless pursuit.Supplying a lead worth protecting?That too often proved beyond the Raiders.But there he was Sunday against the Chargers, with a victory waiting on the other side of Joe Alt and Justin Herbert beyond him.Crosby went through the first to get to the second.And in the desperate scramble to prevent the inevitable, Alt grabbed hold of Crosby and tried to drag him down.

The holding penalty occurred in the end zone, producing a safety that slammed the door on the Chargers in a 26-14 Raiders win.No one earned that moment more than Crosby, who nearly had to leave the Raiders to find the very opportunity they finally gave him Sunday.But more on that in a bit.“Every single day I come in and put everything into this, all year round,” Crosby said.“I want to be put in situations to close out the game and be that guy.”Sunday, he got his chance.His teammates never doubted what he would do with it.

Many have watched Crosby give the Raiders everything he had, often with little to show for it.This time, their joy went beyond winning.

It was about watching him finally get something back.“For him to close it out, I know it means the world to him,” said Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker.“I’m just super excited for him.”Spread those condor wings.Finally, there was something worth celebrating un...