The Raiders are running out of room to separate what they want this season to be from what their performance says it is.

They head to New York to face the Jets on Sunday carrying four consecutive losses, a losing record and questions that reach well beyond how to repair their running game or get a defensive stop.

The next two weeks will help determine what kind of team they intend to be for the rest of the season.

Buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?

A team still committed to squeezing everything it can from veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins or one ready to accelerate Fernando Mendoza’s development by handing the prized rookie the offense?

An operation that stays the course with its current personnel or one that begins creating more opportunities for younger players?

Those decisions are approaching quickly. And the Raiders have considerable say in how they get answered.

Win some games and the conversation changes.

Keep losing and asking everyone to believe in the current direction becomes increasingly difficult.

That is the reality facing Klint Kubiak, whose team followed a promising 3-0 start with close losses to the Chiefs and Bills and humbling defeats against the Patriots and Rams.

There were moments in those competitive losses that suggested the Raiders could stand alongside quality opponents. There were long stretches in the other two that exposed how much work remains.

Now comes a trip to face the Jets, followed by another road game against the 49ers. The Nov. 10 trade deadline arrives two days after the latter.

At 5-4, the Raiders could make a reasonable case for finding help that supports a second-half push. At 3-6, the argument for prioritizing future assets and player evaluation becomes considerably stronger.

A split would leave them somewhere in between, weighing the quality of their play against the mathematics of staying relevant.

None of those records would automatically dictate a trade or quarterback change. But they would change the questions general manager John Spytek and Kubiak need to answer.

Which makes Sunday more than a chance to stop a losing streak.

It is an opportunity to preserve choices.

Kubiak tried to settle the most prominent personnel question this week.

“Kirk is our starting quarterback,” he said. “There is no controversy.”

Fair enough.

Cousins has given the Raiders legitimate production and replacing him would not magically open running lanes for Ashton Jeanty, repair poor tackling or eliminate defensive breakdowns.

There is a sound football argument for keeping him behind center. There is also a responsibility to make that argument hold up on Sundays.

If the Raiders want to turn down the volume on the Mendoza discussion, they have to earn that quieter room.

That means winning.

The responsibility belongs to the Raiders and the Raiders alone. Fans asking about the future are not creating the losses. Reporters asking about the quarterback are not causing the problems that have turned September optimism into October uncertainty.

The team controls the strongest response available.

Play better. Finish games. Give the current plan something tangible to stand on.

This does not require treating Cousins as the problem. It requires acknowledging that the purpose of playing him is tied to what the Raiders can accomplish now.

If the losses continue, Mendoza’s potential to benefit from meaningful snaps becomes a larger part of the calculation. The question shifts from which quarterback gives them the best chance this Sunday to how they best prepare their future quarterback for the Sundays ahead.

Readiness still matters. So does the environment around him. Rushing Mendoza into an offense that cannot reliably run the ball would carry its own complications.

But development cannot remain an abstract promise forever. At some point, practice and observation must give way to the lessons available only against an opposing defense.

The Raiders can keep that transition on their preferred schedule by making the present worth investing in.

That starts with respecting the Jets enough to address their own shortcomings.

A team averaging 74.7 rushing yards while allowing 143.6 per game has no business assuming it is superior to anybody. The Raiders rank 31st in rushing offense and 30th in rushing defense.

Those are fundamental failures, and Kubiak has to lead the correction.

The Jets offer an opportunity to demonstrate progress. They do not offer a guaranteed reprieve.

Nor would one victory settle every question. The Raiders need to show something they can carry to the Bay Area and beyond, something sturdier than another promising stretch interrupted by the same familiar mistakes.

That is what makes these next two weeks so revealing.

The Raiders can give their decision-makers reasons to reinforce the roster, maintain the quarterback plan and keep pursuing the season they envisioned.

Or they can make the case for changing priorities.

Kubiak has stated his position.

Now his team has to give it support.