In Fernando Mendoza's second start of the Las Vegas Raiders' preseason, the rookie played much more, and that opened him up for more mistakes. Mendoza was the team's starter throughout the first half, and despite throwing some nifty passes, he also threw one to a linebacker waiting in the wings. Fellow rookie Wade Woodaz picked off Mendoza's pass, then brought it 80 yards down the field for a Houston Texans touchdown.
Soon after, a dejected Mendoza was shown on the sidelines, but cameras caught his teammate, defensive end Maxx Crosby, offering him some reassurance and words after the mistake. Mendoza gave high praise to Crosby at the team's postgame press conference, explaining what was said. "Maxx is a great team captain, great team leader.
And he's always encouraging for that resilience because adversity is gonna happen," Mendoza told reporters. "I don't want to put words in his mouth but it was something along the lines of 'Hey, we've got your back. Let's go, next play.'" More news: Robert Griffin III Sends Message to Fernando Mendoza for Raiders Season "To hear that from a team captain is very inspiring," Mendoza said of Crosby's moment with him on the sidelines.
Mendoza will likely have many more learning moments and valuable experiences with Crosby and other teammates as his early NFL journey continues. He threw 8 of 15 passes for 86 yards, but also threw that interception and was sacked by the Texans for a loss of 11 yards. The pick-six made it 14-0 for the Texans early in the first half.
Mendoza didn't appear in the second half. Backup Aidan O'Connell came in and threw for 166 yards, completing 15 of 25 passes. The Raiders still scored enough in the second half through two rushing touchdowns to win 22-20.
Mendoza could get another shot at improving upon his mistakes as he learns the NFL game when the Raiders host the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, Aug. 27. It's unclear whether head coach Klint Kubiak will start Kirk Cousins in Week 1, but it seems to be trending that way. The rookie has looked good at times, but also has mistakes that Kubiak said they need to "clean up" with him.
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