It’s unclear if Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins have made plans to watch Shark Week or attend the Catalina Wine Mixer together, but the new Las Vegas Raiders teammates were tasked with channeling an iconic comedy for their team’s schedule release video.
Mendoza, the first-overall pick in this year’s draft, is the new man on campus for the Raiders this year. Meanwhile, the veteran Cousins made his move from Atlanta to Vegas in the offseason.
Both stars are just settling in to their new homes, but the two gunslingers were more than willing to help the Raiders announce their 2026 season with a short skit inspired by the classic comedy, ‘Step Brothers’.
The two channeled the energy of actors Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly when their characters first met in the film and had a tense staredown.
‘You’re gonna have to call me Kirko Chainz,’ Cousins said in the video.
Mendoza replied, ‘Cool, you’re gonna have to call me the Nandolorian.’
Fernando Mendoza (L) and Kirk Cousins (R) re-created ‘Step Brothers’ for the Raiders’ schedule release video for 2026
The pair re-created many of the iconic scenes from the classic comedy film
Even though the two ‘became best friends’ in the video, they’re expected to fight each other for the starting quarterback spot in the preseason this year
From there, the rest of the video played out with other references to the film – including the part where Cousins tells Mendoza to not touch the team crest in the locker room.
The two then shared their love of Star Wars and their favorite football play ‘Turbo Right 63 Y Shallow.’
‘Did we just become best friends?’ Mendoza asked. ‘Yup!’ Cousins replied.
Cousins then showed off his most ‘prized possession’ – a signed sword from Donnie Osmond – before the pair were seen eating cereal in the film room while highlights of teammates Ashton Jeanty and Maxx Crosby were shown on the screen.
The video concluded with the full schedule next to a picture of Cousins and Mendoza re-creating the movie’s front cover.
Las Vegas is about to heat up in a new way this summer as the quarterback battle between the two signal callers continues.
It’s not clear which of the two players will be the Week 1 starter when the Raiders host the Miami Dolphins.
