Raiders QB Kirk Cousins delivered his fifth top-12 fantasy line among the past six weeks in Sunday's loss to the Rams. He threw for 295 yards on 26-of-44 passing, with 2 TDs and no turnovers. It was the second straight game and third among the past four in which Cousins attempted at least 40 passes. All thre of those games also found him completing less than 60% of his throws bue tallying 295+ yards. Cousins has hit 2+ TD passes in six of seven games for the year and currently leads the league with 16 scoring tosses.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Sometimes, Volume's Enough
How well Cousins plays obviously matters for the Raiders. They'll almost certainly turn it over to rookie Fernando Mendoza at some point this year. That's not going to happen in Week 8, but each loss likely brings it closer.
But how well Cousins plays doesn't matter a whole lot for our fantasy purposes. Really, playing uninspired football without going full Jameis Winston might be good for Cousins' fantasy value.
He ranks just 18th among QBs in expected fantasy points per game over the past four contests -- Vegas' losing streak -- but ninth in actual fantasy points per game, ahead of Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy, among others.
The Raiders falling behind -- and struggling to run the ball -- is driving more passing volume. Only Stafford and Jacoby Brissett have dropped back more than Cousins over the past four weeks; only Stafford has attempted more passes.
Cousins might not find similar game conditions in Week 8 at the Jets, a significantly weaker offense than those the Raiders faced the past four games: Chiefs, Patriots, Bills, and Rams. But the 49ers present a potentially similar matchup in Week 9.
We'll see how long Cousins holds the job.
