Following a great performance against the New York Jets in Week 8, opinions on Kirk Cousins were as high as they’ve been in years. Though the Las Vegas Raiders have been struggling to win consistently, Cousins has mostly played well.
That was until the Week 9 game against the San Francisco 49ers. In the 38-17 loss, Cousins threw three interceptions, including one that went for a touchdown.
It looked like the Raiders would put rookie Fernando Mendoza in the game in the fourth quarter, but they decided to keep rolling with Cousins. After such an ugly performance, there were many calls for the Raiders to start Mendoza going forward.
It remains to be seen if that will happen. From his perspective, Mendoza is a big fan of Cousins and thinks he’s still playing well.
“I love Star Wars,” Mendoza said, via The Athletic. “I think it’s like (Cousins is) Master Yoda out there, and I’m trying to get all the information from him. He’s playing at an MVP-caliber level, and him being so receptive to me, and answering all my questions, and looking out for me is super special. He’s stuck his neck out for me and really helped me along the way.”
What Should Raiders Do?
The Raiders don’t have a lot to lose by playing Mendoza. He’s not a raw prospect who needs a year or two to develop. At 4-5, the Raiders are highly unlikely to make a real playoff run.
However, they clearly have a plan, and they’re sticking to it. The Raiders can’t run the ball, and the defense is a disaster. It’s not a great situation for a rookie quarterback right now. Barring the Raiders trading Cousins, it seems unlikely that they’re ready to pivot to Mendoza.
They play an elite Seattle Seahawks defense in Week 10 and another great Denver Broncos defense in Week 11. It could make more sense to wait until after that stretch to really consider starting Mendoza.
Cousins Disappointed in Outcome
Cousins was playing so well that there was talk that the Raiders could get a first-round pick if they traded him. That’s not going to happen now.
Cousins was really disappointed with how he played against the 49ers.
“(It) felt like there were plays out there to be made and felt like our defense did a nice job in the second half getting us the ball back, creating turnovers, turnovers on downs,” Cousins said after the loss. “It’s disappointing not to capitalize on those opportunities and cut the lead that they had. Disappointing for a lot of different reasons, and (we) have to be better moving forward.”
The offense has mostly been good throughout the season, but the defense can’t stop anybody. However, they did get better in the second half against the 49ers, but the offense kept turning the ball over. Cousins was frustrated that both sides of the field can’t play well at the same time.
“I think that’s the hard part, not feeling like we’re all playing our best ball at the same time to then kind of give us that chance in a game like (Sunday),” Cousins said. “That’s something to look to in the future, is just all of us playing our best ball together to then be able to come out with a win.”
Fernando Mendoza Has Strong Message for Kirk Cousins Amid Benching Talk