The Las Vegas Raiders have lost four straight, Kirk Cousins is still under center, and the No. 1 overall pick is still waiting in the wings. New York Giants legend Eli Manning thinks that last part has to change at some point this season, arguing that rookie Fernando Mendoza needs “that live action eventually” to be ready for next season.

Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak isn’t ready to go there yet. On Monday, a day after a 35-21 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams, he chose to stick with Cousins as his starter for Sunday’s game at the New York Jets. However, Kubiak and Manning differ less on whether Mendoza plays than on how each of them reads the Raiders’ 3-4 record.

Eli Manning Wants Fernando Mendoza Ready for Next Season

In a conversation with Colin Cowherd, Manning took up the question of when the Raiders should go to Mendoza.

“You learn a little bit. You don’t learn the things you need to learn,” Manning said of Mendoza sitting on the bench. “Having Kirk there this year, hey, this is how a professional does this. You can learn, but now you gotta go play the game.”

For Manning, the payoff for getting Mendoza on the field this season comes down the road. “You gotta throw Fernando in there, really just to prepare him for next year. So he can go into that next season, and he can win some games and doesn’t have to kinda go through those rookie struggles.”

Cousins has talked about his place in Las Vegas along similar lines.

The 38-year-old signed with the Raiders in April, and after the loss to the Rams, he laid out how he approaches the arrangement: “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.”

What Mendoza hasn’t had is much time on the field to put those lessons to work. He has completed six of eight passes for 48 yards this season, all in his only appearance, which came as a substitute in Week 5 at New England.

Why Klint Kubiak Is Sticking With Kirk Cousins for Now

Manning built that case partly on the standings, describing a Raiders team that sits third in the AFC West as “not in the playoffs hunt, necessarily.” Kubiak, whose team still has four division games on the schedule, sees things very differently.

“We have a plan. We don’t have a timeline for that. Kirk is playing really well. We’re in the hunt, and it’s really important that we keep playing really well behind him and continue to develop Fernando.”

That plan doesn’t include Sunday, and Kubiak said so plainly: “Fernando is gonna play at some point, OK? It’s not gonna be this week.”

Kubiak opened his press availability with the announcement and also shut the door on any debate under center this week: “There is no controversy there.”

Cousins has thrown for 1,877 yards this season, fourth in the NFL, and his 16 touchdown passes are tied for the league lead, against five interceptions. His 97.4 passer rating ranks 12th of 33 qualified quarterbacks. He has a 78.9 PFN QB Impact Grade, which ranks 14th in the league.

The Raiders started 3-0, and in the four losses since, they’ve been outscored 143-95. Against the Rams, Cousins went 26-of-44 for 295 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Both scores came in the fourth quarter, after Los Angeles built a 28-6 halftime lead.

The Raiders ran for just 48 yards on 17 carries in that game, went 1-for-5 in the red zone, and gave up 199 rushing yards. On the season, they rank 31st in rushing yards per game, and their defense ranks 29th in both points and yards allowed.

That’s the side of the ledger Kubiak pointed to when he talked about his quarterback, saying, “We’ve got to keep helping all the areas around him.”

The Raiders have 10 games left, starting Sunday at MetLife Stadium against the 2-5 Jets. Every one of those Cousins starts is one fewer chance for Mendoza to get the kind of snaps Manning wants him to have before next season, but for now, the keys stay in the veteran’s hands.