The Las Vegas Raiders have slammed back down to earth after initially being one of the surprise teams of September. Following a 3-0 start, the team has endured a four-game losing streak, with Sunday's 35-21 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams dropping them below .500 for the first time in 2026. 

Now with a losing record, it's fair to wonder whether the organization's approach may shift with more of an eye towards 2027, which could result in a change under center.  At some point, the Raiders are going to turn the keys of the franchise over to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, and that date may be getting closer, especially if the losses persist. 

"I think we have to go watch the film," coach Klint Kubiak said Sunday when asked if it's time to start thinking about the future and potentially turning to Mendoza. "I think at this point, we're thinking about everything. How to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter, personnel, scheme. We've got to talk about all of it."

Mendoza has already tasted playing time, making his debut back in Week 5 in garbage time during a loss to the Patriots. Kubiak said Sunday that there was no thought of putting Mendoza in over the course of the second half on Sunday. 

Kirk Cousins hasn't been the entire problem for Las Vegas, but the veteran quarterback has also regressed from his 3-0 start to begin the season. Over this four-game losing streak, he's completing 60% of his passes compared to the 67.4% completion rate he had during the first three weeks of the year. 

"It's really the same every day that it was in March or April," Cousins said postgame when asked about eventually being unseated by Mendoza. "I mean, nothing changes in the sense that if I'm not the best option then I don't want to be out there, either. I want our football team to have the best chance to win games, and if the first OTA if that had become apparent, I would have been the first one to say, 'Yeah, you can't play me.' 

"So nothing changes, you know, and the organization will do what they feel is best. I feel that, you know, Fernando's done a great job and has a bright future ahead, and I'm going to try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can and help us win and give him a great example to learn from, until he does go out there eventually."

Again, while some of those numbers are down, it's not like Cousins has been bad enough to warrant a benching on his own, but the circumstances could create a perfect storm where it happens anyway.  

The biggest reason for the Raiders' return to Earth has been the regression on defense, as they've faced some of the game's elite quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford. During the losing streak, the defense has allowed opponents to average 35.8 points per game with 11 total passing touchdowns allowed. 

That poor play on the defensive side of the ball should factor into any decision Kubiak makes at quarterback. With the unit playing this poorly, does it make sense to throw Mendoza in and ask him to repeatedly try to keep his team in the game? Those poor game scripts could prevent Mendoza from building the best foundation moving forward.  

The Raiders will be on the road for four of their next five games before hitting the Week 13 bye. If these losses continue to mount, Mendoza will be thrust in under center at some point to try to give this 2026 team a spark as well as build towards 2027 and beyond.