With 6:06 left on the clock against the New England Patriots, and with the Las Vegas Raiders offense completely stalled out, head coach Klint Kubiak finally pulled Kirk Cousins and sent in the 2026 No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza for his first professional regular-season snaps. This was enough to spark an immediate QB debate in Las Vegas, especially after the game ended in a brutal 45-17 loss for the Raiders.
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Former Patriots legends Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman jumped right into the conversation on The Gronk & Jules Show on NFL on FOX’s YouTube channel. Edelman asked how many more poor offensive games it would take before the Raiders switch their starting QB out for the rookie sensation. This prompted Gronk to outline his prediction for exactly when that change would take place.
“The poise he had for not even knowing like he was going to even play in the game. The poise he showed was phenomenal. I was proud of him…
“Kirk Cousins is going to start again, and the next time they tank like they just tanked versus the Patriots is when Fernando is going to take over for the rest of the year. Okay, that’s my guess,” Rob Gronkowski stated. “Kirk Cousins, give him another chance. If he continues to be playing at a high level like he has been throughout the beginning of the season, well then he’s going to stay in. But if they have another game like they just had, it just shows that Kirk can only take them so far. We might as well just make it the Mendoza show now.”
Hearing Gronk sing Mendoza’s praises is a twist some might not have seen coming, considering what happened just a few weeks ago. Back in September, the rookie QB faced heat from veterans after launching a ‘Finance With Fernando’ financial literacy campaign for the younger generation. Back then, Gronkowski had openly warned the young QB to stop pushing out business promos before getting playtime and proving himself on the field.
Edelman had been even harsher back then, bluntly telling Mendoza that football must remain his only passion as a top pick. Yet, watching the rookie operate with total composure in live action clearly changed their minds. Mendoza’s calm demeanor against New England’s defense completely erased those earlier doubts about his focus and commitment, with Edelman starting the conversation by stating, “I’ll tell you right now, Fernando Mendoza looked good in there.”
The main reason this conversation happened in the first place was Cousins’ rough afternoon in Foxborough. Heading into Gillette Stadium in Week 5, the Las Vegas Raiders actually boasted one of the cleanest pass-protection units in football, entering Sunday tied for the fewest sacks allowed across the entire NFL.
But that pristine pocket vanished in a hurry against New England. Even though Kirk Cousins completed 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards and connected with tight end Brock Bowers for an early 13-yard score, the veteran spent the rest of the afternoon under relentless siege, taking three sacks for a loss of 23 yards.
NextGen Stats revealed that the Patriots pressured Cousins on 48.4% of his dropbacks while missing key cornerbacks. That relentless pressure doomed the Raiders’ passing attack. This has now turned their steaming hot 3-0 start to the season into consecutive lopsided defeats.
Fernando Mendoza made the most of his time on the field by completing 6/8 passes for 48 yards and not getting sacked even once.
Despite the outside noise, HC Klint Kubiak maintained his position on the Raiders QB setup in his postgame press conference. Kubiak clarified that pulling Cousins was strictly about getting Mendoza live exposure towards the end of the game, stating there is no thought of making a lasting change right now.
“I wanted to get him some exposure…He did a good job. Yeah, all reps are valuable. Very important for him,” Klint Kubiak told the reporters.
He also quelled any doubts about who starts next week, confirming that Kirk Cousins remains the starter and is “in line to start next week when the Raiders host Buffalo.”
It will be interesting to see whether Rob Gronkowski’s prediction regarding Fernando Mendoza taking over from Kirk Cousins comes true later in the 2026 season.