Kirk Cousins sees a piece of himself in Fernando Mendoza

Fernando Mendoza experienced his archetypal sensation of regular‑season NFL action. In a sense, the rookie backed up starting backmost Kirk Cousins as the Las Vegas Raiders opened their season with a 27‑13 triumph over the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium. Mendoza did not see the field on Sunday. He became the archetypal backmost selected with the No. 1 wide draft pick to not start in Week 1 since 2018 and is unlikely to start for an extended period barring any surprises. Still, there was plenty to watch and learn from the sideline. Cousins threw three touchdowns and two interceptions while completing more than 70 percent of his passes, and the Raiders defense limited the Dolphins to a single touchdown while forcing two turnovers. After each significant play—whether an offensive gain or a defensive stop—Mendoza was among the first to greet his teammates as they came off the field and throughout the game he spent each possession trying to absorb the information about him. When Las Vegas was on offense, he remained attached to the hip of Raiders quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan. Sullivan, hired by the franchise in March after Klint Kubiak assumed coaching duties, possesses 20 years of coaching experience, most recently with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he served as both a senior offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach. He has previously worked with Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. When Mendoza was not speaking with Sullivan, he sat on the bench beside Cousins while the Raiders defense was on the field, holding conversations and reviewing film on the team’s tablets regardless of whether Las Vegas had scored on the previous drive. Cousins likened the start of Mendoza’s career to his own experience backing up Washington’s No. 2 draft pick Robert Griffin III for most of the 2012 season, stressing the value of mastering the small details. “I deliberation each time and each week helium volition beryllium capable to tuck immoderate nuggets distant to assistance him arsenic helium goes guardant successful his career,” Cousins said. “I was doing the aforesaid happening erstwhile I was a rookie, learning connected the alert and trying to instrumentality enactment of everything bully and bad. “I deliberation that tin each beryllium utilized to make yourself arsenic a subordinate … I deliberation that’s what it is each astir erstwhile you’re a young player.”