Still the Raiders starter, Kirk Cousins eyes improvement ahead of Jets game

Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak had affirmed Kirk Cousins as starting quarterback Monday without controversy.

Not that Cousins gave much thought about that.

“I just go out and do what my coach tells me and just go play,” he said after practice Wednesday.

“Just go to work and stay the course. Nothing really changes.”

Unchanged for the Raiders this week — as they prepare to travel for their Sunday matchup with the New York Jets — in the face of their four-game losing streak is their belief that Cousins remains the quarterback best equipped to lead them to wins. The NFL’s leader in touchdown passes at age 38 in his 15th season, he has started every game this season — keeping top draft pick and prized rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza on the sideline as his backup.

For now.

Said Kubiak, his offensive coordinator in 2021 with the Minnesota Vikings, for whom he worked two other seasons as quarterbacks coach when they rostered Cousins: “Knowing him as long as I have, whether he’s on a hot streak or a losing streak, he’s the same. That’s what you want from your leaders. You want consistency.”

Cousins is still leading NFL passers with 16 touchdown passes this season, ranking third in yards (1,877) while also surrendering the third-fewest sack yards (55) among seven-game starters. He’s carrying an unbalanced offense, hampered by the second-worst rushing efficiency (3.0 yards per carry) that’s forcing him to throw more than Kubiak wants.

Still, he has managed multiple touchdowns tosses in six of seven games, three times posting a quarterback rating of 106.7 or better. Kubiak’s confidence in Cousins is rooted in “the production. The production’s there. But it’s a team game, so we’ve got to produce together in order to win football games.”

Their lack of balance notwithstanding, the Raiders are seventh in scoring offense (26.1 points per game) as opponents target Cousins with pressure and deploy man coverage to stymie their rhythm. Mendoza’s mobility and arm talent might someday soon open viable counters, but Cousins is focused on helping Las Vegas establish an effective identity.

Added Cousins: “We want to be disciplined. We want to run a great operation. We want to protect the football. We want to be explosive and playmakers. I think how you get there can vary week to week, but no matter what, you want to be an offense that’s explosive and can beat people a variety of ways and be very multiple.”

For his part in helping that identity blossom, Cousins said feels he can be sharper as a passer in the red zone and on third downs. The Raiders rank 29th in red-zone touchdown rate (46.4 percent) and 17th in third-down conversion rate (39.1 percent) and 22nd in average time of possession (29:20).

“It’s a fine line between winning a game and losing a game. It can be one play. It can be one throw,” Cousins said. “You can say, ‘I’m playing great, having good production, things are going well,’ but if you miss one throw and you lost the game, you missed one throw and you lost the game.”

Case in point: Cousins said Sunday he lamented a fourth-down incomplete pass intended for wideout Jalen Nailor, who beat his defender to open himself in a 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Cousins missed him, throwing low.

“You play with that tension and you prepare with that tension,” he said. “I think that’s where you say absolutely you can be doing better, because not playing perfect — and the only time you get away with not playing perfect is if you’re winning. Other than that, you either need to be playing perfect or you need to be winning. So, there’s plenty of room for improvement.”

Contact Sam Gordon at [email protected]. Follow @BySamGordon on X.