Fernando Mendoza flashes promise in Raiders’ preseason loss to Cardinals

All the agelong hours and other enactment Raiders rookie backmost Fernando Mendoza has enactment successful during his archetypal NFL grooming campy came crossed successful his archetypal nonrecreational touchdown walk Thursday nighttime astatine Allegiant Stadium.

The No. 1 wide draught prime dropped backmost connected a 3^rd-and-goal from the 6-yard-line successful the 2nd 4th against the Arizona Cardinals and ripped a slug of a walk to second-year receiver Jack Bech connected a slant route.  

The timing and placement were perfect, arsenic the shot divided 2 defenders and was enactment debased wherever lone Bech could drawback it.

"He risked his assemblage and made a large catch, the violative enactment made large blocks," Mendoza said aft the game. "I didn't recognize that was Jack's archetypal touchdown. And, evidently, hopefully, I'm looking guardant successful the aboriginal (to) him scoring galore touchdowns successful the regular season."

The assemblage astatine Allegiant erupted louder than it did for astir regular-season touchdowns during past season's dreadful 3-14 run that yet brought the accidental to instrumentality the 22-year-old Mendoza disconnected a nationalist title and Heisman Trophy-winning play astatine Indiana.

Mendoza’s preseason debut ended successful different Raiders’ loss, arsenic the Cardinals prevailed 27-14, but the accumulation effect felt secondary successful the team’s archetypal crippled nether caller manager Klint Kubiak.

The absorption of the nighttime was showcasing development, particularly among Mendoza’s rookie class. In that department, Las Vegas succeeded — astatine slightest connected offense.

Mendoza played the bulk of the crippled — 5 drives, though 1 was a kneel-down earlier halftime — and flashed capable imaginable to sate a instrumentality basal bare for a franchise quarterback.

He finished with 97 yards and the touchdown onslaught connected 10-for-16 passing on with 2 carries for six yards.

"I thought helium led a bully scoring thrust and, arsenic acold arsenic getting successful and retired of the huddle and commanding the group, getting play calls down, I saw the aforesaid feline that we've seen successful practice," Kubiak said of Mendoza. "I spot an ascending player. We've conscionable got to support getting better."

Mendoza was acold from perfect. Two plays earlier the Bech touchdown, Mendoza took a costly sack connected 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard enactment courtesy of 2025 Cardinals’ first-round prime Walter Nolen.

But Kubiak has talked up Mendoza’s quality to bounce back, and helium provided an illustration by getting the Raiders into the extremity portion anyway.

"Unfortunately, I fto my teammates down today," Mendoza said successful a harsh self-assessment. "But it's a increasing experience. I consciousness similar we're each growing, and it showed maine that I request to turn a lot."

Las Vegas got into scoring territory connected the possession erstwhile Mendoza’s draught classmate Mike Washington Jr., a fourth-round moving backmost retired of Arkansas, broke a 53-yard tally into the reddish zone.

Washington finished with six rushes for 63 yards, posting 1 of the Raiders’ champion performances of the night.

"I was pleased with what Mike did," Kubiak said. "Mike did immoderate bully things, conscionable similar helium practiced. He's the aforesaid subordinate we've seen successful practice. He had a large tally and we've got to support getting much retired of him."

Mendoza conscionable missed a 2nd touchdown walk successful his last clip connected the field, arsenic helium overthrew seasoned roster hopeful Deven Thompkins successful the extremity portion connected 3^rd-and-7 from the 20-yard line.

But the backmost had a coagulated thrust earlier the incompletion successful going 4-for-4 with 3 of the completions resulting successful a archetypal down.

The rival to the Bech propulsion for Mendoza’s champion infinitesimal of the nighttime came connected the archetypal thrust of the possession erstwhile helium roped a 19-yard completion implicit the mediate of the tract to draught classmate Malik Benson, a sixth-round prime retired of Oregon.

"It's each astir the timing and trusting your feet arsenic (quarterbacks) Coach (Mike) Sullivan and (offensive coordinator) Andrew Janocko say," Mendoza said. "At that constituent successful time, I was capable to place the sum and I knew the spot Malik was going to beryllium in."

Benson led the Raiders’ apical receivers with 2 catches for 26 yards connected the night, portion Bech finished with 3 catches for 25 yards.

Bech besides helped outpouring the longest play from scrimmage, Washington’s run, with a artifact connected the borderline to complement a lane-clearing pancake by second-year backup near tackle Charles Grant.

"I don't deliberation the shot has recovered him arsenic overmuch successful signifier arsenic we would person liked," starting backmost Kirk Cousins said of Bech. "What I've noticed of Jack is precise beardown hands and, arsenic a quarterback, there's going to beryllium choky sum successful this league truthful you request radical who with idiosyncratic close connected them tin inactive spell drawback the football. That's what the large receivers I've played with person been capable to do, and Jack has that trait."  

Las Vegas’ starting discourtesy was productive nether Cousins arsenic the 15-year seasoned took it connected a 10-play, 68 gait touchdown thrust to commencement the game. Tight extremity Michael Mayer scored connected a 13-yard walk from Cousins wherever helium made 1 defender miss successful the unfastened field.

Cousins played lone 1 possession until Mendoza took over.

"I was conscionable taking it each in," Cousins said of his ain Raiders' debut. "It's a large stadium, a large environment. They're dying to cheer for us. We've got to springiness them a crushed to get retired of their seats, and that's what we're trying to do."

Mayer had an other accidental to radiance with prima choky extremity Brock Bowers constricted to lone a fewer snaps with nary targets. On the different broadside of the ball, borderline rusher Maxx Crosby did not play astatine all.

The discourtesy performed amended without Bowers than the defence did without Crosby.

Rob Leonard’s archetypal crippled arsenic antiaircraft coordinator did not spell smoothly, arsenic the Raiders allowed touchdowns connected the Cardinals’ archetypal 3 drives and didn’t unit a punt until the 4th quarter.

Pressure was nonexistent without Crosby, and virtually each of the Raiders’ apical cornerbacks giving up agelong completions.

The Cardinals completed their archetypal 16 walk attempts including a brace of touchdown passes from erstwhile Raider Gardner Minshew, who some times picked connected rookie fourth-round cornerback Jermod McCoy.

McCoy is competing with second-year cornerback Darien Porter and chap rookie Hezekiah Masses for a starting spot, but they weren’t overmuch better.    

Arizona starting backmost Jacoby Brissett zipped a propulsion past Porter to Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 7-yard touchdown walk successful the archetypal 4th to necktie the crippled astatine 7-7.

"We've got a batch of maturation to do," Kubiak said erstwhile asked astir the secondary. "As a team, we've got a batch of maturation to do. It starts tomorrow."

Mendoza’s archetypal thrust followed Harrison's touchdown, with the Raiders gaining 1 archetypal down connected a walk to Bech earlier punting.

The Cardinals scored erstwhile they got the shot backmost and ne'er trailed again, though Mendoza’s touchdown walk did concisely necktie the crippled astatine 14-14.

The Raiders person improvements to marque up of a associated signifier astatine the Houston Texans adjacent Tuesday, with a preseason crippled determination 2 days later, but the astir important semipermanent origin for the squad appears to beryllium connected track.

Mendoza delivered crushed for excitement.   

"It was an invigorating experience," Mendoza said. "There's not galore moments wherever you consciousness afloat live and, connected the field, is wherever you consciousness afloat live particularly successful the NFL atmosphere. So, I privation to springiness acknowledgment to that. It was large to get retired determination and get my feet wet."