The Las Vegas Raiders are in the midst of a three-game losing streak after falling to the Buffalo Bills 33-30 on Sunday. However, that didn’t impact the Raiders’ standing in the Week 7 NFL Power Rankings roundup, as many in the media are giving quarterback Kirk Cousins his flowers.
Bleacher Report
18. Las Vegas Raiders
Last Week: 18
Here’s how most people expected this season to go for the Raiders: Kirk Cousins would open the season as the starter under center, but as the losses mounted, the reins in the offense would be handed to rookie No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders have dropped three straight, but don’t hold your breath waiting for Mendoza to take over.
For the second time in three weeks, the Raiders gave an AFC heavyweight all they could handle in Week 6. Cousins was a big reason why, lighting up the Bills for 313 passing yards. It’s going to come down to the Raiders’ priorities. Once the team’s unlikely postseason hopes have been dashed, then odds are we’ll see Mendoza take over. But given how feisty these Raiders have been to date, those playoff aspirations may be around a while longer than we thought. — Gary Davenport
Davenport is correct in that the 3-0 start has altered the timeline (or at least expectation) of when the rookie will take over behind center in Las Vegas. But it does feel like this weekend could be a swing game, even though the team would only be one game below .500 and still in playoff contention if it doesn’t leave Los Angeles with a win.
A loss to a struggling and hobbled Los Angeles Rams would make it four in a row for the Raiders, meaning they aren’t able to beat the best teams they’ve played even when Cousins is playing well. At that point, the postseason odds become very bleak, and it might be time to start focusing on 2027 and beyond for the rest of 2026.
The Athletic
18. Las Vegas Raiders
Last Week: 17
Fantasy focus: Kirk Cousins
The 38-year-old quarterback just keeps hanging on, but the calls for No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza will get louder after the Raiders dropped their third straight game Sunday. That’s not necessarily Cousins’ fault, though. He is 29th in fantasy scoring (18.5 ppg) after being drafted No. 264 overall. Tight end Brock Bowers is once again pacing the Raiders offense. He’s 13th in scoring (20.6 ppg). — Josh Kendall, Chad Graff
This basically reiterates the point above. Cousins is playing well, but at some point, the organization’s and coaching staff’s focus needs to shift to the future. Getting over the hump and taking down the Rams this Sunday will buy the veteran quarterback and the Raiders’ playoff hopes some time, but the club has used up all of its moral victories when it comes to the current starting lineup and the outlook for the 2026 season.
Sports Illustrated
19. Las Vegas Raiders
Last Week: 16
Piggybacking on [the Browns potentially trading for a quarterback], an interesting thought experiment: What if the Raiders decided that Fernando Mendoza was ready? Would the Browns be at all interested in having Cousins back up/challenge Deshaun Watson for snaps down the stretch, especially if Cleveland keeps gutting out victories? — Conor Orr
In my opinion, this feels more like a fantasy idea than a trade that can actually happen. I have a hard time seeing Kubiak sending away Mendoza’s mentor right after making the rookie the starter. Part of the reason Cousins was brought in was to add a veteran voice to the quarterback room, giving Mendoza another person to turn to for advice. In other words, Cousins would still provide value to the team even if he isn’t on the field.
Also, while Watson isn’t exactly lighting it up in Cleveland, I have a hard time seeing the Browns trade for a quarterback and have that quarterback pick up Todd Monken’s offense quickly enough to make a change, especially since the team is winning.
NFL.com
18. Las Vegas Raiders
Last Week: 19
Another tough loss marked the Raiders’ third straight defeat, dropping them from a 3-0 start to 3-3 after six weeks. For some teams, this might be a sign of crisis. These Raiders, however, have proven competitive in two of those three losses, going blow for blow with two AFC titans in the Chiefs and Bills. This is part of the process of evolving from cellar-dweller to aspiring contender, in which the upstart learns how to win the close battles against proven teams. Las Vegas has received a couple of good lessons in this department recently, while Kirk Cousins continues to thrive. There are no moral victories, but there are degrees of losses, and this one appears more favorable than others. — Nick Shook
I like this assessment of where the franchise is heading. Would it have been better to pull off upsets instead of losing by three points to the Chiefs and Bills? Absolutely, no one is arguing that. But the Silver and Black are at least making strides and are clearly a better team than they were last year. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and remember, Kansas City took pity on Vegas in the first meeting last season. The Chiefs didn’t even throw the ball in the fourth quarter and took a knee before the two-minute warning, and that was a bad Chiefs team for their standards.
ESPN
18. Las Vegas Raiders
Last Week: 17
Biggest issue on offense: Run blocking
Las Vegas signed center Tyler Linderbaum with the expectation that he would fix the team’s run-blocking issues from last season. Instead, those have continued, especially Sunday, when the Raiders totaled just 65 rushing yards. The unit struggled containing the Bills’ offensive line; Linderbaum had a hard time blocking defensive tackle Deone Walker. Caleb Rogers, who started at right guard over Jackson Powers-Johnson, also whiffed on a block that led to Ashton Jeanty being stopped for a 3-yard loss at the goal line in the fourth quarter. — Ryan McFadden
Fair or not, Linderbaum was supposed to be the catalyst to solve this problem, hence the record-setting contract. Instead, the results are about the same, and the center has been average to slightly above average. But don’t take my word for it; take his. Linderbaum was very candid about his performance against the Bills and said he “has to play better for the team.”
