Klint Kubiak won't rule out starting Fernando Mendoza after the Raiders' fourth straight loss

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak opened the door to a quarterback change after Sunday's 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the team's fourth straight defeat. Asked whether No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza could replace Kirk Cousins, Kubiak said everything is on the table.

"We have to go watch the film," Kubiak said, according to ESPN. "I think at this point, we're thinking about everything to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter, personnel [and] scheme. We've got to talk about all of it."

Las Vegas is 3-4. ESPN noted it is the third team in the past 10 seasons to start 3-0 or better and then lose four in a row, after the 2021 Broncos and Panthers.

Cousins said his approach isn't changing and repeated what he said when he signed in April: if he isn't the best option, he doesn't want to be out there. "I want the football team to have the best chance to win games," he said. He called Mendoza's work "great" and said he would try to "give [Mendoza] a great example to learn from until he does go out there eventually."

ESPN's numbers point the finger elsewhere. Cousins shook off a rough first half against the Rams to throw for 295 yards and two touchdowns with a 94.4 passer rating, though he was sacked twice and pressured 19 times. Through seven games he has 1,877 yards, a league-leading 16 touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner, has played once. He came on with about six minutes left in the Week 5 loss to New England and went 6 of 8 for 48 yards. Kubiak said he didn't think about a switch Sunday, even with the Raiders down 22 after three quarters, because they had pulled within 10 with 13 minutes left.

The bigger issues are elsewhere. Since Week 4 the defense has allowed an average of 35.8 points and 416.5 yards a game, and the Rams ran for 199 yards Sunday, with Blake Corum and Kyren Williams each over 90. The Raiders haven't reached 100 rushing yards since Week 3. Ashton Jeanty caught a touchdown pass but averaged 1.9 yards on eight carries.

"You can't win in this league having to throw it as much as we are throwing," Kubiak said.