Raiders coach Kirk Cousins's job is safe for now. Klint Kubiak announced Monday that Cousins will remain the team's starting quarterback, and he said there is "no controversy" at the position. ESPN reported that the decision covers Sunday's game at the Jets. Yahoo Sports framed it as Kubiak shutting down speculation about a change. None of the summaries we have say who raised the question or whether Kubiak named a backup.
The question came up because of how the Raiders have played. They are 3-4, third in the AFC West, and have lost four in a row. The latest was a 35-21 home loss to the Rams on Oct. 25. Before that came a 33-30 defeat to Buffalo and a 45-17 loss at New England.
Cousins' own numbers are not the main problem. Through seven games he has completed 161 of 257 passes (62.6 percent) for 1,877 yards, 7.3 yards per attempt. By our game logs he has 16 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Against the Rams he went 26 of 44 for 295 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and he was sacked twice. The Raiders still scored only 21 points. They converted 3 of 14 third downs and ran just 17 times for 48 yards, while the Rams ran 38 times for 199. Las Vegas also went 1 for 5 in the red zone.
The pattern was similar against Buffalo. Cousins threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and the Raiders lost by three. His 365 yards against Kansas City on Oct. 4 came on 52 attempts. Our logs show high passing volume in several of the losses. That fits with Kubiak backing his quarterback, but we can't say it is his reasoning, because the reporting doesn't give one.
| GP | CMP | ATT | CMP% | YDS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 161 | 257 | 62.6 | 1,877 | 7.3 |
The Jets are not much healthier. They are 2-5, third in the AFC East, and have lost two straight. They fell 28-25 to Miami on Oct. 25 and 26-19 at New England a week earlier. Their last win was 17-12 over Cleveland on Oct. 11. Both teams come in on losing streaks, so Sunday's game on Nov. 1 matters for Cousins' standing.
Sunday will show whether Kubiak's stance holds. The coach has said Cousins starts and has said nothing, in the material we have, about what would change that.
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