Fernando Mendoza’s turn as the starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders will have to wait.
Kirk Cousins will be tasked with guiding the Raiders out of their four-game spiral as they prepare to face the New York Jets on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
“There is no controversy,” Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said on Monday, one day after indicating that all areas would be under the microscope. “Kirk is playing at a very high level, and (he’s) got to continue to do that for us to win. We’ve got to keep helping all the areas around him.”
The Raiders (3-4) rank seventh in the NFL in scoring offense at 26.1 points per game but are yielding 28.1 per game, the fourth-most in football. Cousins, to his credit, has thrown for 16 touchdowns and only five interceptions this season and had 295 yards and two touchdowns in Las Vegas’ 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week.
But Las Vegas has given up 416.5 yards and 35.8 points per game during its losing streak, with the Rams running rampant on its defense for 199 yards on the ground.
“At this point, we know where we’re not good enough as a defense and we have to pick that up,” Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean said this week. “It starts with me and it starts with us being real with each other. I’m probably going to start holding guys way more accountable. I feel like I already do that, but I guess there’s another level to it that we need to take it to because it’s not working right now.”
The Jets (2-5) could be asking similar questions of their defense after allowing the woeful Miami Dolphins to pick up their first victory of the season, 28-25.
Miami hadn’t held a lead all season, yet the Jets gave up three touchdowns on the Dolphins’ first four drives and played from behind all afternoon. Solid performances from Geno Smith (287 touchdowns, three TDs) and running back Braelon Allen (104 rushing yards) weren’t enough.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn did not agree with an assessment that he was stretched thin between managing the clock and calling the defensive plays.
“It’s not easy — I’ll be upfront and tell you that — but it’s my job to try to make sure these things happen and I’m going to put the stress on me to be able to do that,” Glenn said.
Amid another disappointing season for the Jets, rumors have arisen over star receiver Garrett Wilson, who was targeted a season-low three times against Miami and just six the previous week against New England. But Wilson said Wednesday he has not and would not request a trade.
“That’s the reality of things when you lose, is stuff like that comes up,” Wilson said of what he’s seen online. “We saw it last year. We’ve seen it before throughout the history of time. My name happens to be flying around in that. That’s just how the business goes. I’m trying to control what I can control, go out and run good routes, catch the ball when it’s thrown my way, have a good impact on my teammates.”
Rookie edge rusher David Bailey, New York’s sack leader (5.5), came out of the Miami game with a groin issue and sat out Wednesday’s practice. Backup offensive tackle Max Mitchell (concussion), defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat (knee) and edge rusher Joseph Ossai (ankle) also missed practice. Both Allen (ankle) and Breece Hall (quad), who has missed four games, were limited along with starting guard Dylan Parham (knee).
Raiders defensive end Patrick Johnson (stinger) missed practice Wednesday. Star tight end Brock Bowers was limited with a calf injury, as were fellow tight end Ian Thomas (shoulder), tackle DJ Glaze (ankle), defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (shoulder) and linebacker Quay Walker (chest).