Raiders won’t be switching QBs
NFL notebook
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HENDERSON, Nev. -- Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak, before even taking questions, opened his weekly news conference Monday by affirming that Kirk Cousins remains the starting quarterback and "there is no controversy."
Kubiak wanted to quell any talk that rookie Fernando Mendoza, the top pick in the NFL draft, would be handed the reins when Las Vegas visits the New York Jets on Sunday.
"Eventually, Fernando is going to play football," Kubiak said. "We have a plan. We don't have a timeline for that. Kirk is playing really well, and we're in the hunt. It's really important that we keep playing really well behind him and continue to develop Fernando, but Fernando is going to play at some point. It's not going to be this week."
It's been a guessing game around the league when the Raiders would turn to Mendoza. Las Vegas' four-game losing streak certainly increased such chatter as the Raiders (3-4) dropped below .500 for the first time.
But Raiders general manager John Spytek has made clear this won't be a quick turnaround for a franchise that has made just two playoff appearances since reaching the Super Bowl in the 2002 season. And the four teams the Raiders just lost to -- Kansas City, New England, Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams -- show the gap that still needs to be made up.
Help on the way
The Washington Commanders are coming out of their bye week at 1-4-1 with matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams on deck.
But any second-half push will have to happen without Terry McLaurin, who tore his left patellar tendon in a game against the 49ers on Oct. 19. Coach Dan Quinn said that Treylon Burks, who left the matchup against the 49ers with an injury, should work back into practice this week.
Stefon Diggs also appears ready to have a full week of practice -- he's been dealing with a hamstring issue and appeared to hurt his hand in the matchup at the 49ers. Diggs, Burks and rookie Antonio Williams are expected to be the team's starting receiving trio moving forward.
Pep talk works
Ja'Marr Chase's halftime speech during Sunday's game definitely woke up his Cincinnati Bengals teammates as they stormed back in the second half from a 13-0 deficit and dominated Baltimore in the second half.
Whether the 35-13 victory over the Ravens can serve as the springboard to an extended winning streak or the Bengals making the playoffs for the first time since 2022 remains to be seen over the next couple of weeks.
Chase said after Sunday's game that he cried the previous time he gave a speech at halftime. His emotions were the opposite this time.
"I didn't cry this time," Chase said. "I came in here screaming, saying, 'Somebody's got to make a play for us, somebody got to make a play.' And I told our offense we can't look at our defense the whole time. We've got to step up and make something work."
The 35 second-half points are the most by a team shutout in the first half since the Minnesota Vikings put up 39 points in their Week 15 game in 2022 against the Indianapolis Colts, completing the largest comeback in NFL history after being down 33-0.
Browns reminiscing
Deshaun Watson's fourth-quarter comebacks have older Browns fans remembering the "Kardiac Kids" days of 1979 and '80, when Brian Sipe led Cleveland to thrilling come-from-behind victories.
However, Watson and the AFC North-leading Browns are pulling off things that not even Sipe accomplished.
Sunday's 27-24 victory at Tennessee made Watson just the third quarterback since the 1970 merger to have a game-winning drive in each of his team's first five wins that season. Dallas' Troy Aikman did it in 1990, followed by Detroit's Matthew Stafford in 2016.
The Browns also joined the 2016 Lions as the only teams since 1970 to record a game-winning score in the final four minutes of regulation or in overtime in each of their first five wins.
Even though Sipe led 11 fourth-quarter game-winning drives during his heyday -- including seven in 1979 -- and eight come-from-behind victories, he didn't rally the Browns from double-digit deficits in consecutive weeks.
After beating Baltimore 13-10 on Oct. 18 after trailing 10-0, Cleveland came back from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to defeat the Titans on another walk-off field goal by Andre Szmyt.