The Las Vegas Raiders ‘ first three games are starting to look like a fluke. The team finally lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, but many respected that the Raiders kept it close and had a chance to win.
The same couldn’t be said about the team’s performance against the New England Patriots. The Raiders never had a chance and looked terrible in all three phases of the game.
Things got so bad that the team made the decision to take starting quarterback Kirk Cousins out of the game and replace him with rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders have been holding off on playing the promising rookie, but things got some out of hand against the Patriots that there was no reason to keep the veteran out there.
The team certainly wasn’t hoping to play Mendoza this early in the season, but they were able to give him some valuable reps. He was able to make some plays, but didn’t lead a scoring drive. Despite the promising start to the season, the Raiders clearly still have a lot of issues. The defense couldn’t stop anything today, and the offense couldn’t score. Just a bad day all around for Klint Kubiak’s squad.
Will Raiders Turn to Mendoza?
Though the Raiders gave Mendoza a chance to finally play some snaps, it likely doesn’t mean Cousins is on the hot seat. The loss against the Patriots wasn’t on him.
He threw for 243 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over despite constantly being under pressure. Cousins is still playing well enough to not have to worry about a quarterback controversy.
At the same time, if the Raiders keep losing, there’s no reason not to give Mendoza a chance. He’s gotten to sit behind Cousins and learn. He’s the future of the franchise, so it doesn’t hurt to give him some more reps. The Raiders likely need to lose a few more games before they consider pivoting, but it’s looking like they aren’t as far ahead of their rebuild as they were hoping.
Raiders Clearly Still in a Rebuild
The Raiders’ 3-0 start to the season is impressive, but the record clearly didn’t tell the whole story. The Miami Dolphins might be the NFL’s worst team, and the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers aren’t as good as many expected them to be.
Now, the Raiders can beat bad teams, which is something they couldn’t do in the past. They still have work to do to keep up with the top AFC teams. Things don’t get easier, as the Raiders play the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7.
3-5 is a very realistic possibility. That may change the Raiders’ thinking. They were considered to be buyers at the trade deadline, but they may be more inclined to keep onto their draft picks. The Raiders don’t need to panic, as they were expected to be bad this season. This is still a rebuilding year, and a higher draft pick might be better for them in the long run.
Raiders Make Major Decision With Fernando Mendoza