Mendoza Time Is Coming As Kubiak Fights To Push It Back

The Mendoza watch is now on the clock for the Las Vegas Raiders, and this latest version actually has the rookie quarterback taking the field. (Maybe.) Coach Klint Kubiak is focusing on getting wins, but he knows the media wolves are howling to see the Raiders’ rookie, and he’s only going to be able to hold this off for so long. 

It’s a shame given how well Kirk Cousins has played under some of the most difficult circumstances in the NFL. As Ryan McFadden of ESPN noted, the run game is nonexistent, the defense has allowed 35.8 points per game since Week 4, and the offensive line's production has taken a step back. Even with all that, Cousins is ranked first in touchdown passes in the league with 16, which is truly remarkable given what he’s working with. 

No matter. Cousins won four games in a row late last season with the moribund Atlanta Falcons, and that’s the key right now for him to keep his job. 

This week’s game against the New York Jets is a pivot point for the Raiders season after the brutal stretch of games that’s been behind the team’s current four-game losing streak, as we’ll either be headed closer to Mendoza Time or perusing the standings for the next couple of weeks to see who the playoff pretenders are. 

As Kubiak noted in McFadden’s piece, there’s a lot that goes into playing quarterback at a high level in the NFL, and winning is high up on the list. Cousins and his coach are joined at the hip in this venture, and the quarterback has more than held up his end of the bargain. 

He’s also helped players like tight end Michael Mayer, whose future in the league was very much in doubt until this season. Mayer is just one player who’s lauded Cousins’ experience, which includes the ability to “calm everybody down,” as the tight end put it, when things start going sideways. 

Things went very sideways against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday, and that’s because the blueprint is out on how to beat the Raiders. Crowd the box, bring the blitz and take away Cousins’ obvious hot reads, and trouble will usually follow. 

Mendoza will offer more mobility to go with more mistakes and less composure, and that’s not a formula Kubiak is willing to live with right now. He needs wins to stave off the switch, with this week against the Jets being the biggest potential win of all.