It was not as even as close as the score indicated, and the Las Vegas Raiders dropped their fourth straight game on Sunday, 35-21 to the Los Angeles Rams.
So, we come back with this week's edition of the "Mendoza Meter,” where we use a 1-10 scale to determine how close rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza is to starting. A "1" signifies it's not happening anytime soon, while "10" means he might be starting next week.
The "Mendoza Meter" moves each week based on some core factors. One is the performance of Kirk Cousins. Another is whether the just-completed game was a win or a loss. Another Cousins-related tentacle is his health coming out of said game.
A 28-6 halftime deficit to the Rams might've felt ripe for Mendoza to make his second regular season appearance. But Cousins continued, while the Raiders' defense shut the Rams out for a quarter-plus and had two takeaways. Two early fourth quarter touchdowns narrowed the score to 28-18 before the visitors put it out of reach with a touchdown.
Through six weeks, the "Mendoza Meter" has never been higher than a 5, after Week 1. It dropped to a 1 in Week 2, and stayed there in Week 3 and Week 4. It went to a 2 after Week 5, and it moved up to a 3 after Week 6.
After Week 7, the "Mendoza Meter" goes all the way up to a 9.
Fernando Mendoza Meter, Week 7: The end is near for Kirk Cousins
Before we assess Cousins' performance against the Rams, we have a new layer to put into the "Mendoza Meter." This week, after the game, when asked at what point would he would start thinking about the future of the franchise and playing Mendoza, here's what head coach Klint Kubiak said:
“We have to go watch the film, and I think at this point, we're thinking about everything to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter, personnel and scheme", Kubiak said, via ESPN's Ryan McFadden. "We got to talk about all of it."
That was hardly a declaration that Mendoza is going to start next week, in acknowledgement of issues that go beyond the quarterback. Even if that becomes the plan, Kubiak probably wouldn't announce it publicly until Friday (if even then). It was also not, as Kubiak had done before, an endorsement of Cousins as the starter next week.
As was the case for the entire team against the Rams, Cousins didn't start well. Through three drives he was 4-for-7 for 14 yards. On the fourth offensive drive of the game, he added an incompletion to the tally.
Before the Raiders’ final drive of the first half, Cousins was 7-for-13 for 39 yards with a passer rating below 60. That final drive pushed him to 12-for-20 for 95 yards with a 71.9 passer rating at halftime.
Through three quarters. Cousins had 130 passing yards while completing 17 of 30 attempts. On two fourth quarter touchdowns drives, the second of which was a short field after a turnover by the Rams, he had 112 passing yards along with the two scores.
With the Raiders down 35-18, Cousins had the remaining 53 of his passing yards for the day on a field goal drive that narrowed the score to its final margin.
If you're counting at home, here's how it breaks down.
Cousins, first three quarters: 17-for-30,130 yards
Cousins, fourth quarter: 9-for-14 for 165 yards, two touchdowns
Cousins has long been a box score quarterback, and with that in mind, fantasy managers who have deployed him have been pretty happy with what he has done so far this season. To be entirely fair, a defense that has given up at least 30 points in four straight games and a run game that can't get much of anything done has kept him throwing the ball more than is ideal.
But losses are losses, and a losing streak is still a losing streak, and there aren't many easy answers for the Raiders to get things back on track.
What has become clear is that opposing defensive coordinators blitz Cousins heavily if they can. He can't move well enough, or threaten downfield well enough, to make them pay for that aggressiveness often enough.
The Raiders can't even do a proper "Tush Push" with Cousins under center, which has left fullback Connor Heyward to do it and there have been residual issues. Even a traditional quarterback sneak, or much of anything designed to put the quarterback on the move, is a no-go with Cousins under center.
The coming days will tell if the pivot to Mendoza happens now. But as preseason predictions were made about when the No. 1 overall pick might make his first start, Week 8 against the New York Jets was seen as a strong possibility amid an otherwise tough stretch of schedule.
With that, after Week 7, the "Mendoza Meter comes in at a 9.
Add us as a preferred source on Google