Raiders to consider starting No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak will consider whether No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza can be part of the solution as losses mount for Las Vegas since starting the season 3-0.

The Raiders were plagued by familiar issues as they lost a fourth consecutive game Sunday, 35-21 to the Los Angeles Rams.

"I think at this point, we're thinking about everything," Kubiak said. "How to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter. Personnel, scheme, we've got to talk about all of it."

Kirk Cousins completed 26 of 44 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns Sunday and his performance wasn't entirely detrimental to the Raiders. Las Vegas was 3-of-14 on third down and scored a touchdown on one of five trips to the red zone.

"It's really the same every day that it was in March or April," Cousins said when asked about ceding the position to Mendoza. "Nothing changes in the sense that, if I'm not the best option, then I don't want to be out there either. The first OTA, if that had become apparent, I would have been the first one to say, ‘Yeah, you can't play me.'

"So nothing changes. The organization will do what they feel is best. I feel that Fernando's done a great job and has a bright future ahead, and I'm going to try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can, help us win, and give him a great example to learn from until he does go out there eventually."

Mendoza has completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards, all in mop up duty at New England on Oct. 11.

Cousins leads the NFL with 16 touchdown passes and is 12th in the league with a 97.4 passer rating.

Drafted first overall in April, Mendoza was the Heisman Trophy winner and led Indiana to the national championship in 2025. But he's been QB2 most of his stint in Las Vegas.

Kubiak and general manager John Spytek made it clear Cousins, 38, would begin the 2026 season as the Raiders' starter.

Not executing in the red zone was the main issue that left Kubiak miffed on Sunday.

"It comes down to we have to make plays down there when we have our one-on-one opportunities," Kubiak said. "Got to make the throws, got to make the catches. Didn't happen."

--Field Level Media