Raiders to start Kirk Cousins vs. Jets despite losing skid, Fernando Mendoza speculation: 'There is no controversy'

Kirk Cousins still has his starting job in Las Vegas, at least for now.

Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak confirmed that Cousins would get the start against the New York Jets this week despite their four-game losing skid and plenty of speculation that the franchise would turn to No. 1 overall draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza in the near future.

"Kirk is our starting quarterback. There is no controversy," Kubiak said on Monday, via Raiders.com's Paul Gutierrez . "He is playing at a very high level."

To Kubiak's point, Cousins is playing very well so far this season. The 38-year-old has thrown for 1,877 yards and an NFL-best 16 touchdowns. He went 26-of-44 for 295 yards and threw two touchdowns in their loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

That loss, however, was the team's fourth in a row. The losing streak, which now has them sitting at 3-4, came after they won three straight to open the season.

"I think at this point, we're thinking about everything to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter, personnel [and] scheme," Kubiak said on Sunday . "We've got to talk about all of it."

While "everything" includes a quarterback switch, Kubiak made it clear he's not ready to make the swap just yet.

But that is coming eventually. Cousins knew his time in the starting role in Las Vegas was limited even back when he signed with the team in April. He even reiterated that on Sunday night and said that if he ever thought Mendoza would be better for the team, he'd be "the first one to say" it.

And simply switching quarterbacks isn't going to fix all of the Raiders' problems. The defense gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground alone on Sunday, for example, and they haven't ran for more than 100 yards in a single game as a group since the losing streak started.

The time will come when the Raiders look to Mendoza to lead them. Until then, Cousins is going to make the best of his unique role while he still has it.

"I'm going to try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can, help us win and give [Mendoza] a great example to learn from until he does go out there eventually," Cousins said.