Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza got his first start for the Raiders, but it didn't go well.
The Las Vegas Raiders got a good idea of just how far Fernando Mendoza has to go in his first pro start against the Houston Texans, as Mendoza struggled right from the start and wound up throwing the first pick-six of his career.
Kirk Cousins and the rest of the offensive starters sat this one out, and the problems started right out of the gate after quarterback C.J. Stroud led the Texans offense down for an opening touchdown drive. Mendoza then threw an incompletion and had trouble getting the Raiders lined up, and the result was a pre-snap penalty.
Mendoza threw a dart to Jalen Nailor that went for 22 yards, and running back Mike Washington Jr. bounced a run outside that went for 33 yards.
Disaster struck after that, though, as Mendoza threw the first pick-six of his career when he missed Washington and was intercepted by Wade Woodaz, who ran the ball back 80 yards for another Houston touchdown.
The Raiders went conservative in Mendoza’s third drive, and Mendoza did lead Las Vegas to a couple of first downs. But the second-string offensive line couldn’t protect Mendoza as the drive ended with a brutal sack from Kayden McDonald that produced an 11-yard loss. It was a night when Mendoza took some serious shots, and that was definitely one of the worst.
Mendoza showed some of what’s becoming his trademark resilience in this fourth drive as he threw a half-dozen straight completions, including a nice connection with Malik Benson that went for 18 yards, although Benson did have a couple of drops that hurt his stock going forward.
The halftime numbers weren’t pretty, with Mendoza going 8-for-15 for 86 yards with the interception in what was an underwhelming showing overall. Washington was virtually the only player that looks like he could be part of a winning team, but it’s hard to believe the Raiders are anything close to that so far, even if it is just the preseason.
Mendoza didn’t come out for the third quarter, probably in part due to the inability to protect him. Coach Klint Kubiak was interviewed at the end of the half, and he started that “I’ve gotta due a lot more to help him,” although it’s hard to tell how much more Kubiak can do given the state of the roster as currently constructed. It was a tough night for Mendoza given the expectations, and he did have a few bright moments to build off going forward.
