{"id":1017700,"date":"2026-10-03T18:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T18:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1017700\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T18:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T18:30:23","slug":"the-favor-kirk-cousins-is-doing-for-fernando-mendoza-on-the-raiders-and-not-everyone-understands-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1017700\/","title":{"rendered":"The favor Kirk Cousins is doing for Fernando Mendoza on the Raiders\u2014and not everyone understands it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kirk Cousins<\/a> isn\u2019t just keeping the Las Vegas Raiders\u2019 <\/a>offense on schedule.<\/p>\n

According to FOX Sports analyst Mark Schlereth, the veteran quarterback believes his strongest contribution to Fernando Mendoza\u2019s development is showing the rookie what high-level NFL preparation and execution look like.<\/p>\n

Tom Brady walks into Raiders camp looking like the real boss as fans notice one telling detail<\/p>\n

\u201cKirk Cousins told me, \u2018Hey man, the best thing I can do for Fernando Mendoza is play great and show him what an NFL offense is supposed to look like. That\u2019s the best thing I can do for him,\u2019\u201d said\u00a0Schlereth on the Rich Eisen Show.<\/p>\n

That approach matters because Mendoza entered Las Vegas with enormous expectations. The Raiders selected the Indiana star first overall after his unbeaten 2025 season, during which he threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Despite that investment, head coach Klint Kubiak awarded the starting job to Cousins after the veteran impressed throughout the offseason and training camp.<\/p>\n

Three games into the season, it\u2019s becoming easier to understand the decision. Cousins has helped guide Las Vegas to a 3-0 record, throwing three touchdown passes in each game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Against the New Orleans Saints, he completed 22 of 33 passes for 248 yards and three scores as the Raiders erased an 11-point deficit to win 35-27.<\/p>\n

Cousins\u2019 success is part of Mendoza\u2019s education<\/p>\n

Schlereth said Cousins views his own performance as the best example he can provide Mendoza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead of treating the rookie as someone who needs constant instruction, Cousins is giving him a firsthand look at how an experienced NFL quarterback prepares and operates an offense.<\/p>\n

That philosophy also fits Cousins\u2019 earlier comments about their relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s pushed back on the idea that his role is simply to mentor Mendoza, explaining that the quarterbacks are working together, exchanging feedback and learning from one another.<\/p>\n

The results have given Mendoza something valuable, and that is time to observe an NFL offense functioning at a high level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through three games, Cousins has completed 67.4% of his passes for 661 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions, while producing a 107.2 passer rating.<\/p>\n

His consistency has also taken some pressure away from the rookie. Mendoza doesn\u2019t have to be thrown into the lineup simply because he was the No. 1 pick.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, he can spend additional time learning Kubiak\u2019s system, studying defensive looks and watching how Cousins handles game situations.<\/p>\n

Kubiak has made clear that Mendoza remains part of the plan, but Cousins continues to earn the opportunity to play while the Raiders are winning.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played really good football. I\u2019m really happy with all three of our quarterbacks. Kirk\u2019s had a really good offseason, very good camp, and he\u2019s earned it,\u201d Kubiak said.<\/p>\n

Cousins has also praised Kubiak\u2019s organization and commitment to improvement. He\u2019s noted that the coach doesn\u2019t allow victories to prevent him from correcting mistakes, creating an environment where both quarterbacks can continue developing.<\/p>\n

With Cousins running the offense effectively, Mendoza can learn without carrying the immediate burden of fixing every problem on a team with playoff expectations.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Cousins is focused on the Kansas City Chiefs and keeping Las Vegas rolling, while Mendoza\u2019s NFL debut can wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kirk Cousins isn\u2019t just keeping the Las Vegas Raiders\u2019 offense on schedule. According to FOX Sports analyst Mark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1017701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[7,1744,393,2455,2454,6,525],"class_list":["post-1017700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-las-vegas-raiders","tag-football","tag-las-vegas","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-lasvegas","tag-lasvegasraiders","tag-nfl","tag-raiders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117378405110747182","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1017700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1017701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1017700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1017700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1017700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}