The Las Vegas Raiders were riding high after a 3-0 start, but a potential reality check was coming over the course of a tough upcoming schedule. A close Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was a mark of positivity, but a 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 5 was a humbling experience to say the least.
With that we bring back the "Mendoza Meter", where 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.
Team context, in terms of wins and losses, is a key overall factor in trying to predict when Mendoza might start. But the driving force of the sentiment each week is how Kirk Cousins performs, and how he comes out of each game health-wise.
After Week 1, the "Mendoza Meter" was at 5. It dropped down to a 1 in Week 2, and stayed there after Week 3 and Week 4.
After Week 5, the "Mendoza Meter" gets bumped up to a 2.
Fernando Mendoza Meter: Kirk Cousins was not nearly the biggest problem in Week 5 loss to Patriots
On Sunday, the Raiders' defense was simply undressed by the New England offense to the tune of 45 points and 536 total yards. A struggling Las Vegas ground game being able to get on track might've helped the defense be fresher, but the Patriots still averaged 8.6 yards per play before kneel-downs.
It was such a blowout that Mendoza saw his first NFL regular season action. On the Raiders' final offensive drive, he completed six of eight pass attempts for 48 yards along with a three-yard scramble. All in all, even in the context of a late-game defense that was different than Cousins faced all day, it was a fine debut for this year's No. 1 overall pick.
Cousins was not at his best against the Patriots, but he was not even close to the biggest problem in the game. When his day was done, he went 19-for-28 for 243 yards with a touchdown, a 106.7 passer rating and a 68.0 QBR. He was also sacked three times and hit eight additional times, as the Raiders' offensive line wasn't good in any capacity.
Per ESPN's Ryan McFadden, Cousins was pressured on 39 percent of his dropbacks on Sunday (12 out of 31). That's his second-highest pressured rate of the season.
After the game, head coach Klint Kubiak confirmed the quarterback plan has not changed, and Cousins will remain the starter.
After he struggled throwing downfield in Week 1, it's been worth tracking how Cousins does in that area each week. Against the Patriots, according to Pro Football Focus' charting, he went 6-for-9 for 123 yards and a touchdown on throws 10 or more yards down the field.
Any time Mendoza plays in a game right now, regardless of why it happened, there will be impact on the "Mendoza Meter." If an easier opponent was next on the slate, it might be back at least close to where it was after Week 1.
But alas, with Cousins not anywhere on the list of issues for the Raiders in Week 5, we only bump the "Mendoza Meter" up to 2 ahead of that home date against the Buffalo Bills in Week 6.
Add us as a preferred source on Google