Thursday night the Raiders finished out the preseason, facing the San Francisco 49ers. No one got in the end zone for either team, but for the Raiders it was yet another showing that shines a bright light on which quarterback is ready to step behind center in the regular season and which one has a ways to go.
Kirk Cousins came out with the first team to start the game just like he did the preseason opener. This time he played his most extensive snaps this preseason, seeing two full drives that took up nearly the entire first quarter.
On both drives, he led the Raiders into scoring range, going 46 yards on 12 plays and then 45 yards on 10 plays. With both leading to field goals and Cousins completing eight of 11 passes for 51 yards. That's a 72% completion rate. Something Fernando Mendoza afterward described as "ruthlessly efficient".
Compare that to Mendoza who came in afterward and completed seven of 14 passes (50%) for 57 yards and his second pass of the day getting intercepted. Not efficient. Ruthless or otherwise.
“The NFL is really tough, you know," Mendoza said. "There is a big jump going from college to the NFL, and the speed in, there's so many different aspects. And the NFL is a tough business and it's a challenge. I look forward to taking head on with my teammates, and I'm excited for the future."
There has been a competition between these two quarterbacks and there will continue to be one. But less than two weeks from now, the Raiders must decide who gets the nod for the opener.
The choice would seem to be clear, but head coach Klint Kubiak is holding off on officially naming a starter. Which seems to be fine with Cousins.
"It's just up to coach," said Cousins. "You just do the best you can with the opportunities you're given, lead as well as you can, compete, and you're never a finished product. Naming something one day can change the next day. So you just go about your business each day. methodically and let the chips fall they may."
But even if Kubiak isn't making it official, he knows where Mendoza is in his development. And he's got a long way to go.
“He needs another three preseason games," Kubiak said of Mendoza "All those rookies do. And now that the season's starting, the practice reps get smaller and that's just that's just life. But, as coaches, we got to get them ready to play, keep developing them."
The way this is playing out is exactly why the Raiders signed Cousins this offseason. To give Mendoza all the time he needs to acclimate to the offense and to the NFL, so that, hopefully, when his time comes, he will be ready for it. This route was one many successful NFL quarterbacks took when they entered the league. Including Cousins himself.
“I think you learn so much about how this league operates, how the season operates, how defenses will play you in situational football, how you prepare for the game each week, how you recover from a game," said Cousins. "What it takes to really own a game plan over the course of 6 days to really get it locked in."
Cousins was a fourth round pick and he was selected after Washington had already taken Robert Griffin at No. 2 overall. So, yeah, his situation was very different than Mendoza who was taken at the top of the draft. But the value in sitting back and learning is the same. Mendoza figures to get that this season.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Klint Kubiak still won't name Raiders starting QB but choice is clear
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