The AFC West rivalry between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers is about to get a little more heated. After the Chargers Super Wild Card loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Joey Bosa exploded on the referees during and after the game because he thought they missed holding calls. His Raiders counterpart, Maxx Crosby, went on the ‘Bussin’ with the Boys’ podcast and blasted Bosa for his behavior.
“A couple games ago when the f—ing dude had a meltdown blaming the refs,” Crosby said. “I see dudes blaming the refs. ‘Oh, o-linemen hold all the time!’ I’ll never be that guy, bro. S-t like that is so weak to me. I know. I get held all the time, bro. You watch the Rams last drive against us where I was getting literally tackled, but I’m not gonna go and double down and look like a little f—ing crybaby. That’s not me.”
Not only did Bosa get flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after slamming his helmet on the ground during the game, but he also took some shots at the officials in his postgame press conference that earned him at $55,000 fine.
“I do really, really want to say some things,” Bosa said. “I need to be more accountable for my actions, obviously, but it’s a heated game and I’m hurting out there, I’m playing on half a leg, I’m getting dragged to the ground, whatever, could hurt me along with screwing our team, and yeah, maybe some of ’em weren’t as blatant as I thought, but I don’t know.
“I think there just needs to be more accountability. I mean, if I say something to them I get a $40,000 fine, but if they blow a call that ruins an entire team’s season, they get to — they’ll probably be back in the locker room after the game like, ‘Haha, got that a–hole, oh yeah, got him. 15 yards what a loser.'”
Clearly, Crosby and Bosa have different approaches when dealing with officials. Maybe they’ll exchange some tips and tricks when the Raiders and Chargers meet twice in the 2023 season.
