October 2, 2026 - 12:07 pm

This is what they envisioned when guaranteeing him $20 million for the 2026 NFL season. This is what they hoped would occur.

Sure. It’s three outings. A small sample size over a 17-game slate. But for now, Kirk Cousins is doing everything the Las Vegas Raiders need out of a starting quarterback.

Mostly, he’s winning.

The Raiders meet the Kansas City Chiefs in a battle of 3-0 teams Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, where Cousins will take what has been an impressive start into by far the season’s toughest game yet.

He has thrown nine touchdown passes and is the first player in NFL history to toss three in each of a season’s opening three games with a new team. Most of all, his performance thus far is a gift for rookie and No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza.

Klint Kubiak as coach and John Spytek as general manager always wanted a veteran to start the season and allow Mendoza time to sit and watch and learn.

And the more Cousins and the Raiders win, the longer such a desire will play out. And that’s a good thing. On one hand, you’re delivering success on a scoreboard. On the other, Mendoza doesn’t need to be rushed into an arena he might not yet be prepared to navigate at a high standard.

“Your level of play is week-to-week,” Cousins said. “There are no guarantees that next week is somehow going to be at a level I want unless I go out and earn it. That’s the great part about this league — you have to go out every single week and prove it to yourself and everyone else.

“I’ve never felt anything has been handed to me or given to me. You have to go out and play at that level. The opportunity was what I was more interested in, the opportunity to go see. But you have to go do it.”

There is no question such a start to the season has been a team effort. An offense that, while struggling to run the ball, has made enough plays that the Raiders have scored more than 25 points in all three games.

A defense that has forced nine turnovers and continuously handed Cousins and his unit short fields by which to attack.

The chemistry developed between a quarterback and his wide receivers is often talked about, how soon the sides can mesh into a cohesive bunch that consistently produce.

But then you have a player like tight end Brock Bowers and it simply comes down to throwing the ball anywhere near him and watching him make plays.

What about, then, the chemistry between Cousins and his offensive line? The Raiders have been much better up front than in recent seasons. They’re just a more productive bunch even as the run game takes a slow approach to becoming a threat.

“The biggest part is communication,” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “Kirk just has to be on the same page with us to counter really good defensive coordinators. Chemistry is very important. At the end of the day, it comes down to how well we can block for Kirk and how efficient we can run the football.

“Kirk has been a joy to play with. He’s a competitor. He wants to win. He will do anything it takes to win. You want to play for a guy like that.”

Cousins says this game against the Chiefs is a measuring stick, but so was New Orleans and so were the Chargers and it never ends in the NFL. That each test is its own separate challenge.

Wisdom comes over time and Cousins during his career has acquired much of it. He’s different now than a decade ago. Believes that you only get better as you age. Believes he has a much stronger command of things at 38 than he did at 28.

“Your knowledge of the game and understanding all the intricacies and facing defenses and protections and route adjustments,” Cousins said. “You just keep acquiring knowledge and it makes you a better quarterback. The key is your body. As long as you can (stay healthy), I like myself at an older age than a younger age. The physical part is so important. If you feel like you have that, you start to say, ‘Why not the older guys?’ because it checks all the boxes.”

This is what they envisioned when guaranteeing him $20 million for the 2026 NFL season. This is what they hoped would occur.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.