In the immediate aftermath of the Las Vegas Raiders' fourth consecutive loss, a 35-21 trouncing at home against the Los Angeles Rams, coach Klint Kubiak said he would consider "everything" including a quarterback change in the search for improvement. A day later, though, the first-year coach announced that Kirk Cousins will remain the starter indefinitely while Fernando Mendoza continues to watch from the sidelines. The goal remains to win now even as the Raiders slip below .500 at 3-4 on the year.
And Kubiak said Cousins gives them the best chance to do so, especially in the Week 8 road game against the New York Jets. "Kirk is our starting quarterback," Kubiak said. "There is no controversy there.
He is playing at a very high level. He's gotta continue to do that for us to win, and we've gotta keep helping all the areas around him. Excited for him to go play here against the Jets." It would be unfair to pin the four-game losing streak primarily on Cousins.
He has been one of the Raiders' top individual performers even in defeat. His 1,877 passing yards on the year rank third among all quarterbacks, and he is a top-12 signal-caller by passer rating. This has been a renaissance year of sorts for the veteran, who clearly fits well in Kubiak's system.
At some point, though, the Raiders will need to see what they have in Mendoza. They did not draft him with the No. 1 overall pick in April to keep him on the bench. There may reach a point in the not-so-distant future when Las Vegas slips out of contention for the postseason and turns its attention to next year and beyond with what it hopes is its long-term answer at quarterback.
But until that time comes, Cousins continues to make it clear that he is capable of winning games. Although Kubiak committed to Cousins as the No. 1 quarterback for the foreseeable future, he did note that Mendoza "is going to play football" at some point this season. "We have a plan," Kubiak said.
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