Since a 3-0 start to the season, things have been up and down for the Las Vegas Raiders, and part of the test of this season will be rooted in resiliency when adversity hit. After an ugly Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots, Klint Kubiak's team got that done in a tough Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
With that, the "Mendoza Meter" is back. We use a scale of 1-to-10 to tab how close rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza is to making his first career start. "1" means it's not close to happening, and "10" means he's probably starting next week.
The primary driving forces for when Mendoza will start are Kirk Cousins' performance, and the Raiders' win-loss record. So those are also the driving forces for the "Mendoza Meter", with Cousins' health a layer to the equation too if it's appropriate.
Through five weeks, the highest the "Mendoza Meter" has been is a 5; after Week 1. After Week 2 it dropped to a 1, and it stayed there the following two weeks. In Week 5, since Cousins was not anywhere near the biggest issue in the blowout loss to New England, it went up to a 2.
For Week 6, with what can best be called a mixed-to-above average performance from Cousins, the Mendoza Meter edges up to a 3.
Fernando Mendoza Meter: Kirk Cousins delivered another performance that will keep things quiet
Cousins started Sunday's game by completing his first four passes as the Raiders had a balanced first drive end with a rushing touchdown by Ashton Jeanty. From there in the first half, he was fine, as two solid drives ended less than ideally with field goals to keep the Raiders from having a halftime lead.
The Raiders' first two drives of the second half totaled five plays, with a three-and-out followed by an interception from Cousins. The Bills scored 10 unanswered points to capture momentum it felt like they may not give back, and Cousins played a big role in why.
With the defense struggling to keep the Bills' offense at bay, a fourth quarter three-and-out with three incompletions from Cousins was a buzz kill. Two fourth quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Tre Tucker, which were both dimes from Cousins, just weren't enough in the end.
Cousins wasn't overly efficient against the Bills, completing 23 of 41 passes. But several chunk plays, with good doses of YAC in some cases, got him to 313 yards on the day with the two touchdowns to Tucker and the interception.
Since he was so poor in that area in Week 1, what Cousins does on throws 10-plus yards downfield is worth noting each week. He only had one such throw in the first half against Buffalo, per Pro Football Focus, but he finished the game 8-for-14 for 182 yards on those attempts.
Week 7 against the Los Angeles Rams has looked daunting for the Raiders since the schedule came out in May, but the convenient Super Bowl favorites are now 2-4 after a loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Their last three setbacks have been by a total of nine points, though, and it's still not an ideal time for Mendoza to make his first start.
So, the "Mendoza Meter" only edges up to a 3 this week. Without that late touchdown pass by Cousins, and a rally in the fourth quarter after a rough start to the second half, we might be having a very different conversation.
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