The Plays That Highlight What Is Holding the Raiders Back

The Las Vegas Raiders' four straight losses have quickly turned an encouraging 3-0 start to the season into an afterthought. Las Vegas' hot start against three of the league's worst teams was followed by four straight games against the league's best.

Despite their record, the Los Angeles Rams are one of the league's best overall rosters, as they should be, since they thoroughly beat the Raiders even though they were significantly shorthanded. The New England Patriots were significantly shorthanded as well, and still routed Las Vegas.

For as much as the Raiders improved their roster this offseason, it was well known that the roster still needed additional work. After four straight losses, they need work at a position they thought they had figured out after starting 3-0.

Awful play call ? Tre Tucker is immediately wide open for a TD. This was a great play call. Cousins just refuses to look for his WRs

If Jeanty runs out of bounds it would have been 3rd & ~4 with about 14-16 seconds left. The Raiders would have had to get the first down/TD on the… https://t.co/Uz6UbpiSDf pic.twitter.com/P3PRJ8YoZM
— Hunter Macias (@HunterMacias_) October 27, 2026

Two Seperate Issues

Understand, the topic of whether or not Fernando Mendoza should start, or when they should choose to do so, is an issue in itself. They can decide to not start Mendoza until they are out of playoff contention, or not start him at all this season. That is their prerogative.

However, that is a completely different issue from Kirk Cousins' repeated mishaps on game days. Those are two different issues. Regardless of whether or when Mendoza starts, Cousins is making costly mistakes. He is missing out on plays that are there to be made.

That doesn't even account for the multiple near-interceptions he's thrown this season that defenses couldn't reel in. Watch the film, or a few of the plays below, and decide for yourself. These are just a few. Plenty more plays like these exist from Cousins this season. PLENTY.

Those who know the game and have been around it cannot watch plays like the ones below and credibly absolve Cousins of all blame. Whether they say it or not, his teammates certainly are not watching the film and absolving him of all blame. We shouldn't either.

Slant/flat with a seam from Tucker on 3rd and 5 in the first half.

Thought Cousins stayed on the seam too long.

If he didn’t like it get to the flat with Mayer for the first. Instead he kind of panics. pic.twitter.com/xIkfPKv1e1
— Marcus Johnson (@TheMarcJohnNFL) October 26, 2026

The Big Eye In the Sky Does Not Lie

A lot of things can be said about this and about that, but what a player does on the field speaks louder than anything that can be said after a game. There are multiple instances of Cousins missing wide-open receivers, rushing passes, and overall hindering the offense.

For all of the positives he brings to the table, the mistakes Cousins is making are holding the Raiders' offense back. Sure, the unit has several other positions that need further help, but Las Vegas also has a quarterback on the roster with the skill set to work around the unit's other shortcomings.

That quarterback is not Cousins, which is really no fault of his own. In their Week 7 loss to the Rams, the veteran quarterback routinely missed opportunities on well-drawn-up plays; Las Vegas' offensive line held up, and receivers got open. Cousins missed.

It is okay to be honest about what is going on. Even if one chooses not to be, the plays are on film. The guys in the locker room know what they see. Las Vegas' defense sees Cousins holding the offense back, and their coaching staff doing nothing about it.

Does Cousins try to thread it over the top to Bowers ? Nope. Does Cousins throw it to the wide open Connor Heyward ? Nope.

Did you guess the check down to Jeanty ? If so, you are correct pic.twitter.com/U8IFSRpQgV
— Hunter Macias (@HunterMacias_) October 28, 2026

Understand, this is just from the game against the Rams. Las Vegas also had several similar missed opportunities and mistakes from their quarterback in previous games. They were there even when the Raiders started 3-0, but their undefeated start masked those issues.

After four straight losses, it is hard to keep pretending that what is on film isn't. That is the beauty of film! Film does not care what anyone thinks. Film speaks for itself, and it says Cousins routinely does things that are holding Las Vegas' offense back.

“I think from our perspective as players and coaches, that’s not something that’s on our mind. What’s on our mind is win the next game, and we’ve played very talented teams and played much more competitive games than that, being the [Kansas City] Chiefs and the [Buffalo] Bills. Yesterday, when you start the game that slow, you put yourself in position to be behind that much, you don’t give yourself a chance to win,” Kubiak said the day after the game.

“Eventually, Fernando [Mendoza] is going to play football. We have a plan. We don’t have a timeline for that. Kirk [Cousins] is playing really well, and we’re in the hunt. It’s really important that we keep playing really well behind him and continue to develop Fernando, but Fernando is going to play at some point. It’s not going to be this week.”

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