Fernando Mendoza’s Promising First Look

We finally have our first look at Fernando Mendoza in an NFL environment and there is plenty to make of it.

Entering the game in place of veteran quarter back Kirk Cousins in the 1st quarter, Mendoza was not given the opportunity to play alongside 2^nd year running back Ashton Jeanty, who exited alongside Cousins. Despite this, he put his pocket presence and genuine arm talent on display with a few strong throws to excite Las Vegas Raiders fans.

A nervy first drive, which was not helped by penalties, ended in a punt.

But when Mendoza returned for his second drive, he threaded a 19-yard bullet to fellow rookie to Malik Benson and after a long run by Mike Washington Jr., he completed the drive by throwing his first touchdown to Jack Bech with a perfect pass.

He returned to the field in the 3rd quarter, where the Raiders experimented with a high tempo offense with Mendoza working very quickly through his progressions to produce a few more highlight throws, before handing the reigns to Aidan O’Connell to close out the contest.

Mendoza finished his debut outing with an impressive statline of 10/16, 96 passing yards and 1 passing touchdown.

The experienced Cousins (5/6, 50 passing yards, 1 TD), who extends his career into a 15^th season, looked just as comfortable during his brief time in the game, but also benefitted from playing alongside a greater proportion of Las Vegas’ offensive starters.

Cousins was listed as the starting quarterback on the team’s depth chart earlier this week and that is expected to remain the case for week 1 of the regular season, while the talented rookie continues to acclimatise and prepares to potentially start games later in the year.

This replicates the New England Patriots’ approach with Drake Maye, who started his rookie season as the QB2 behind Jacoby Brissett before taking over halfway through the year. This ultimately proved beneficial for Maye and the Patriots, with the quarter back putting together an MVP-calibre sophomore season while leading New England to an unlikely Super Bowl berth.

This game also featured the Cardinals’ 3^rd overall pick Jeremiyah Love – the earliest running back selection since Saquon Barkley (pick 2, 2018) – who finished with 73 yards (11 carries, 3 receptions) and ignited the offense with a handful of dynamic plays after not featuring in last week’s Hall of Fame game against Carolina. Love enters the season as the betting favourite for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award and is likely to take on a role as the work horse, similar to what was seen with Jeanty in his rookie season.

Arizona have sought a long-term solution at running back for a number of years now, and the addition of Love as a genuine threat out of the backfield will also open up the Cardinals’ pass game and allow them to unlock the untapped potential of Marvin Harrison Jr., whilst Trey McBride attempts to retain his crown as the league’s leading tight end, after posting 1,239 yards in 2025-26.

As for the Raiders, with a core offensive trio of Mendoza, Jeanty and Brock Bowers headlining the future in Vegas under the newly appointed Kubiak, there is no doubt some light at the end of the tunnel after what has been a gloomy 5 years since they last tasted playoff football.

What do you think the ceiling for Mendoza’s Raiders is this season?