The Las Vegas Raiders dropped their fourth straight game, falling below .500 for the first time this season and raising questions about when No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza might see his first start.
Following the 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak wasn’t ready to make any definitive statements about Kirk Cousins, Mendoza, or the rest of his squad.
“We have to go watch the film,” Kubiak said via ESPN. “I think at this point, we’re thinking about everything to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter, personnel [and] scheme. We’ve got to talk about all of it.”
Cousins struggled mightily in the first half before the Raiders made a game of it in the second half. Vegas trailed 28-6 at halftime, with the offense putting up 128 yards and two field goals. Cousins finished 26 of 44 passing for 295 yards and two TDs. If not for two third-quarter turnover-on-downs, the Riders might have made it even more interesting late.
Through seven games, Cousins has thrown for 1,877 yards, an NFL-leading 16 touchdowns and five interceptions.
“I want the football team to have the best chance to win games,” Cousins said. “[During] the first OTA [practice], if that had become apparent, I would’ve been the first one to say, ‘Yeah, you can’t play me.'”
Cousins knows the score. Eventually Mendoza will take the starting gig. The question has always been when.
Vegas’s issue is that Cousins isn’t their biggest problem right now. So how much would a QB switch solve in the short term?
The running game can’t get on track. Ashton Jeanty caught 8 passes for 61 yards and a nice TD snag, but rushed eight times for just 15 yards (1.9 yards per carry).
“You can’t win in this league having to throw it as much as we are throwing,” Kubiak said. “If there’s no balance, then you are playing from behind.”
The defense has gotten bowled over. During their 4-game skid, the Raiders have allowed all four teams to score 30-plus points, averaging 35.75 points per game allowed over the streak.
A move to Mendoza won’t fix any of those problems. As the losses mount, however, a change will happen, eventually. Could it be this week against a New York Jets squad that lost to a previously winless Miami team? Or might Kubiak wait until after the November gauntlet — 6-1 49ers, 4-3 Seahawks, 5-2 Broncos and 5-2 Browns — before tossing the rookie into the fire?
Kubiak’s response on Monday to follow-up questions about his QB question will be telling. If he doesn’t immediately back Cousins, it likely indicates a move to Mendoza is already in the works.