Las Vegas NFL QB admits to wild 9-patty In-N-Out order

There's just something about In-N-Out . For decades, the California-founded burger chain has drawn national attention for its quality, simplicity and slow-scale approach. And while in recent years billionaire owner Lynsi Snyder has pushed the company's boundaries ever eastward , the Southern California company still considers Las Vegas to be a second home of sorts - even adding a giant new flagship store right on the Las Vegas Strip this summer.

And as it turns out, one of the brand's most high-profile megafans also happens to reside in Las Vegas: Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins.

"I have an In-N-Out problem," the NFL veteran said cheerfully during a press conference this week before the team's Sunday game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"It wasn't a big deal when I lived in the Central or Eastern time zone," he added, "but on the West Coast time zone, when I signed with the Raiders, I knew this was gonna be an issue." Cousins has previously played for the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders.

Cousins was then asked about his specific order, and that's where things got interesting.

"I actually have a go-to, but it's one I'm not very proud of," he said with a smirk. "If I'm really hungry - and I did this in August on an off day - I had three 3x3s." In In-N-Out lingo, a 3x3 means three beef patties and three cheese slices on a single burger. But Cousins wasn't done. "I don't get onions, but then I also get fries. Don't usually do a shake. That's probably the one discipline I try to have."

Long ago, Cousins would have been able to simply order a 9x9 burger - nine patties and nine cheese slices in a single, giant bun - but those days are long gone. In-N-Out no longer allows burger size modifications above a 4x4, after a Bay Area tech worker and his friends famously ordered and received a 100x100 burger on Halloween night in 2004. (Ironically, the location that made the monstrosity was also located in Las Vegas.)

Within his answer, Cousins also outlined his unusually focused approach to ordering - or, more specifically, to trying to beat In-N-Out's notoriously long and egalitarian lines . "I'm not a very patient person, so waiting in the lines can be tough," he says (great self-scouting). "So I tend to park and go in. In my mind, I tell myself that's faster. I don't know if it actually is or not." For what it's worth, internet sleuths are divided on whether drive-thru or ordering inside makes for the shorter wait time.

Cousins added that he's still putting in reps to test his ordering hypothesis. "I try to be strategic when I go, as far as wait times," he said. "I haven't quite figured out that hack. Maybe it's early, 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. when they first open."

The Raiders play the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 8 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. Kirk, if you're reading this: The closest In-N-Out location to the stadium is just over 2 miles away on Mission College Boulevard.

For all things fascinating in Bay Area food, sign up for our Eat the Bay newsletter here .