The results in Week 2 for the Las Vegas Raiders were fairly similar to those of Week 1. Just as they did against the Miami Dolphins on opening day, they beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in a solid but imperfect showing. However, how they got there, particularly on offense, was quite different.
Against Miami, it was the Ashton Jeanty show. Kirk Cousins looked like an older quarterback who had lost whatever arm strength he had in recent years, and he failed to create explosive plays for the offense. This, in turn, made life much more difficult for Jeanty and play-caller Klint Kubiak.
It felt like Cousins was destined to be the limiting factor for the Raiders' offense. And optimism was quite low that he'd turn it around at the ripe old age of 38. But the veteran signal-caller responded in a major way against the Chargers, looking like a brand-new player and opening the offense all at once.
Raiders' Kirk Cousins responded in a major way in Week 2 vs. Chargers
In so many ways, Week 2 was the opposite of Week 1 for Cousins and the offense. At home against the Dolphins, the unit started fast, dinked and dunked, and was stifled in the second half. This week, they started slow but ultimately went bombs away, getting better as the contest went along.
Last week, Cousins couldn't even lean on a tremendous ground attack and find success beyond 10 yards, as he was 1-for-7 for 21 yards and two interceptions when throwing in that range. On Sunday, he went 8-for-12 for 180 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception on throws beyond 10 yards.
A complete flipping of the script.
And he did this while Jeanty and the run game were at their worst. Cousins found Tre Tucker for a 42-yard touchdown, Dareke Young for a 27-yard gain, Jack Bech for a 20-yard completion, and Cody White for several big-time throws. The Fernando Mendoza Meter has gone from a 5 to a mere 1.
Not to mention, the offensive line did not block well against the Chargers, so in addition to Cousins slinging it downfield at a way higher clip, he was more mobile and found completions under duress. The pass-catchers also dropped four balls, and Cousins still put up 253 yards and 3 touchdowns.
His ability to rip passes up the seam and find open pass-catchers downfield (or throw them open) expanded what Kubiak and the offense could do. Against a loaded box to stop Jeanty, the Raiders gashed Los Angeles over the top and opened up things like double-pass trick plays.
Perhaps the best example of this was at the end of the first half, when Las Vegas had just 35 seconds to make something shake. Instead of taking a knee, the Raiders took chances downfield and were able to score a field goal. Cousins wasn't getting that done with the arm he brought last week.
This week, however, he got it done, and Kubiak was able to capitalize on it to the benefit of the whole offense and the delight of the fanbase. Tre Tucker finally got going, and as we mentioned, White, Bech and Young all got involved, much more than they did on opening day.
What Cousins needs to do, however, is find a way to be more consistent.
Consistency will be the key going forward for Kirk Cousins and Raiders
Cousins was bad in Week 1 and was bailed out by the run game. In Week 2, Cousins was the one who bailed out the run game. Obviously, having the ability to pick each other up is great, and it's led to two sizeable wins for the Silver and Black. But it's not sustainable.
Every week can't be so drastically different; consistency is required. Jeanty is still a young player who is growing, but Cousins is pretty much in his final form. He doesn't have to be the player that he was against the Chargers every week, but he can't be who he was against the Dolphins, either.
Eventually, if this keeps up, the run game and Cousins will be off on the same day, and it will be a very ugly loss for the Raiders. Different game plans call for different approaches and will naturally lead to different results, but it shouldn't take a Herculean effort by either party to win in a given week.
As the oldest player on the roster and the head of the snake as the starting quarterback, Cousins has to dial it in and find downfield completions every week. He's seen enough NFL defenses to get the job done, no matter the scheme, coverage or personnel he is facing. And he's just got to do it.
Otherwise, Raider Nation will be stuck with watching an up-and-down football team. And if that's the case, it won't be long until Mendoza is given the keys to the car. For both his sake and Las Vegas', Cousins must find a way to be consistent and closer to the version he was in Week 2 than in Week 1.
If he can find that, it will continue to open up new elements for this offense. And that is sustainable.
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