The hype was real Thursday night at NRG Stadium as the Las Vegas Raiders' first overall pick Fernando Mendoza got his first NFL start in the preseason against the Houston Texans. The results were underwhelming, though. While he looked good out of the gate, firing a 22-yard dart to wide receiver Jalen Nailor on just the second snap of the game, Mendoza followed that up with a brutal pick-six two plays later.
He missed his lone pass attempt to Nailor on the next series before the Raiders had to punt it away, and saw two more drives end in punts in the second quarter as well. He finished the first half 8-of-15 for 86 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. Not all of the missed pass attempts were his fault.
Rookie receiver Malik Benson had some bad drops as well. But it's still not what you want to see from your franchise quarterback. And what's worse, third-string QB Aidan O'Connell came on in the second half and performed much better, going 15-of-24 for 166 yards and leading the Raiders to a 22-20 comeback win over the Texans.
Mendoza reflected on his performance after the game. "I came away with that there's a lot more learning to do, and that although maybe you had a lot of success at another level, this level is a whole step further," Mendoza said. "The margins are so small.
One tiny mistake can lead to catastrophe. So I want to make sure that I best serve my teammates and get better from these experiences." More news: Jerry Jones Plans to Make Cowboys Players Pay for $500,000 NFL Fine More news: Eagles’ Saquon Barkley Reacts to No Longer Being NFL’s Highest-Paid RB It's still just the preseason and only Mendoza's second live NFL game, but it's safe to say that's not the result fans were expecting when they heard the news he'd be playing the entire first half. The performance also further validates Las Vegas' decision to go out and get Kirk Cousins.
Despite a down couple of years in Atlanta, Cousins has looked efficient so far with the Raiders and already knows Klint Kubiak's system, with the two previously working together for three years in Minnesota. The Raiders have one final preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers next Thursday before the regular season kicks off Sunday, Sept. 13, against the Miami Dolphins in Las Vegas. That 49ers game will be Mendoza's last chance to get some live reps before taking a backseat to Cousins in Week 1.
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