News Article
Published
Oct 26, 2026 at 11:08 AM EDT
A 3-0 start in Las Vegas has turned into a four-game skid, and the rookie drafted first overall is suddenly part of the quarterback conversation.
The Los Angeles Rams beat the Las Vegas Raiders 35-21 at Allegiant Stadium on Oct. 25, dropping head coach Klint Kubiak’s club to 3-4. Afterward, reporters pressed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins on whether Fernando Mendoza should take over, according to Vegas Sports Today.
The 38-year-old didn’t dig in. His stance, he said, is “the same every day that it was in March or April.
“I mean, nothing changes in the sense that if I’m not the best option then I don’t want to be out there, either,” Cousins said. “I want our football team to have the best chance to win games, and if [in] the first OTA if that had become apparent, I would have been the first one to say, ‘Yeah, you can’t play me.’”
He had praise for his understudy, too.
“I feel that, you know, Fernando’s done a great job and has a great future ahead,” Cousins said.
His line against the Rams held up on paper. Cousins went 26 of 44 for 295 yards and two touchdowns, mostly after halftime.
The Raiders trailed 28-6 at the break, when Cousins was 7 of 12 for 39 yards. The offense’s first touchdown came on a 37-yard strike to Tre Tucker in the final quarter.
Nobody in the NFL has thrown more touchdown passes than his 16. Raiders PR said that matches the totals Daryle Lamonica and Jeff George posted through seven games.
Las Vegas spent the top pick of the 2026 NFL Draft on Mendoza after he guided Indiana to a national title. He made his NFL debut against the New England Patriots in Week 5.
Next up for Las Vegas is the New York Jets. Kubiak gets a week of film to decide whether the NFL’s touchdown-pass leader keeps the job at 3-4.