Patriots exposed weakness of the Raiders’ offense
Kirk Cousins is tied for no. 2 in the league in passing touchdowns (12) and he’s no. 8 in the league in passing yards (1,269), but the Raiders have lost two games in a row and week 5 was arguably their worst offensive performance of the season.
The Patriots exposed the Raiders’ offense on Sunday with an aggressive gameplan that put pressure on Cousins and challenged Raider wide receivers to win one-on-one matchups.
At 38, Cousins doesn’t have the arm strength or mobility he once had, and the Raiders have arguably the least intimidating wide receiver room in the league.
That combination led the Patriots to send more than half their defense at Cousins on 17 percent of the Raiders’ offensive snaps on Sunday.
Raiders failed to make New England pay for rushing extra defenders
Based on comments after the game on Sunday, the Raiders weren’t prepared for the Patriots to be so aggressive on defense and it’s something the coaching staff will need to address this week.
Cousins understands how to beat an aggressive defense, but the Raiders either weren’t ready for it on Sunday or don’t have the personnel to be beat it.
An overly aggressive defense should be susceptible to chunk plays from the offense, but according to Nex Gen Stats, Cousins didn’t attempt a pass beyond 20 yards and all but seven of his throws were under 10 yards.
Can Cousins still stretch the field?
That has been one of the talking ponts around Cousins in recent weeks, and the conversation picked up momentum this week.
Cousins has shown an ability to stretch the field at times, and it’s worth noting that his passing chart looked a lot better in week 4 against the Chiefs.
The issue with Cousins, though, is that he needs more to go right to make positive plays happen.
Cousins has enough arm strength to play the position well, but Mendoza has mobility, a quicker release and an elite arm even by NFL standards.
Mendoza can make the back shoulder throw against near-perfect coverage and has the ability to fit throws into coverage that many quarterbacks in the NFL, including Cousins, do not.
That doesn’t mean it’s time to turn the keys to the offense over the Mendoza, but there’s no question Mendoza can bring an element to Klint Kubiak’s offense that Cousins cannot.
One of the best monologues on Mendoza after Sunday’s game came from Murf on Raiders Fan Radio. It’s worth the five minutes if you have it…
