
DENVER – Khalil Mack is having quite a month. The Raiders edge rusher has been dominant for three weeks straight, but he’s never put on a show quite like Sunday.
The second-year pro had five sacks and a forced fumble that led to a critical safety in Sunday’s 15-12 upset win over the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field.
In short, he was awesome.
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He owned Denver’s offensive line, and spent most of his day in the Broncos backfield. He had five sacks, nine in the last three weeks and now has 14 on the year, now the highest total in the NFL.
“Khalil Mack put on a show,” tight end Lee Smith said. “That dude is something else. What a great player.”
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He was the first player to have five sacks in a game since Aldon Smith did it with the 49ers in 2012. He is the first Raider with five sacks in a game since Howie Long did it 32 years ago.
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“He was unbelievable,” head coach Jack Del Rio said. “He’s just getting better and better, and he’s a great young man. I didn’t realize he actually had five sacks on the day. I knew he was awesome. I knew he made a big play for the safety, and I knew he went back there. It was a tremendous effort by Khalil.”
Veteran safety Charles Woodson challenged Mack to be more of a vocal leader on the field, to take command in games and assert himself in key moments. He did that on Sunday, with a strip sack of Brock Osweiler in the end zone. He had sacks on third down to force punts and could not be stopped.
Woodson likened Mack to a Hall-of-Fame edge rusher.
“The way he can get around the corner and bend and get low to the ground, those sort of things, it kind of reminds you of Derrick Thomas,” Woodson said. “I remember playing Derrick Thomas my first game in the NFL against the Chiefs and he had six sacks against us. Today, Khalil kind of reminded me of that.”
That’s quite a compliment. Mack gets a lot of them these days, as he rounds into a dominant player widely respected throughout the league. He doesn’t let success go to his head, remaining humble even after a career performance.
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He gave credit to others for his strong day.
“I mean, you feel like you got a pretty good advantage, but at the same time, it was just team defense,” Mack said. “Guys (were) working in the back, rushing coverage, working together and that’s what you saw.”
Raiders fans saw a player at top form, truly understand the methods of manipulating offensive linemen for his own gain. That, and full health, sparked a run of dominance as the season winds down.
“For a young guy like him that’s just kind of really coming into his own, you’re just seeing flashes of what he’s going to be,” Woodson said. “Today is an awesome game, but this guy, throughout his career if he stays healthy, the sky is the limit to what he’s going to be able to accomplish in this league.”