Kubiak closes the QB question: Cousins starts at the Jets, Mendoza waits

Klint Kubiak spent Sunday night saying the Raiders were "thinking about everything" at quarterback. By Monday afternoon he was done thinking. Kirk Cousins starts Sunday at the Jets, and the coach wanted the subject shut.

"There is no controversy," Kubiak said. "Kirk is our starting quarterback." He added that Cousins is "playing at a very high level and he's got to continue to do that for us to win," per KTNV. On Fernando Mendoza: "Fernando's going to play at some point. It's just not gonna be this week," Kubiak told reporters.

The numbers back the call, which is the uncomfortable part. Cousins has 16 touchdown passes, the most in the league through seven weeks, against five interceptions and 1,877 yards. A quarterback producing at that rate on a 3-4 team is not the line item you cut.

The losses are itemized a few rows down. Las Vegas ran for 48 yards against the Rams, its second-lowest total of the year, and Ashton Jeanty averaged 1.9 yards a carry, per the team's own By the Numbers breakdown. The Raiders went 1-of-5 in the red zone and 3-of-14 on third down. The Rams went 5-of-5 inside the 20 and rushed for 199. Hand that same offense to a different quarterback and the arithmetic doesn't improve.

Some help is arriving. The Raiders designated receiver Jack Bech to return from injured reserve on Monday, which opens a 21-day practice window, according to the team. Bech broke his forearm in the Week 3 win at New Orleans and had five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown before that, NBC Sports noted. He is eligible to play this week.

Opinion, and labelled as such: the Mendoza noise isn't really about Cousins. It's about where the season is headed. At 3-4 with four straight losses, the Raiders are nearing the stretch of calendar where teams stop trying to win games, and the market knows it. CBS Sports listed four landing spots for Maxx Crosby before the Nov. 10 deadline, with Pete Prisco arguing on air that Vegas should sell, while Adam Schefter said he doesn't know whether Crosby is pushing for a move privately. Nothing is in motion. That the list exists at all is the story.

Sunday is winnable. The Jets are 2-5, and former Raiders guard Dylan Parham now lines up for them, as Raiders Beat noted. Watch whether Bech practices in full, and watch the opening drives. Las Vegas trailed by 22 at halftime on Sunday, and no quarterback fixes that.