Fernando Mendoza’s practice at Allegiant Stadium on Tuesday ended similarly to the rookie quarterback’s Monday training camp practice at the team facility in Henderson.
He threw an interception in the two-minute drill on each occasion in what proved to be his final throw each day.
Mendoza attempted to hit running back Mike Washington Jr. over the middle late in Tuesday’s non-padded practice session only for the ball to take a big deflection in the air and wind up in the hands of linebacker Cody Lindenberg to end the second-team offense’s drive.
On Monday, he tried to force a ball in traffic on the sideline that was snagged by defensive back Greedy Vance.
Kirk Cousins had led the first-team offense to a 54-yard field goal on his opportunity in the two-minute offense.
The night was more about giving fans an opportunity to see the team practice and giving the team a dress rehearsal at Allegiant Stadium before Thursday’s preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
There is no practice scheduled on Wednesday.
Raiders coach Klint Kubiak was clear before practice about what he was hoping to see his team accomplish on Tuesday night.
“Tonight’s really important,” he said. “Really excited about going and being in front of our fans, being on the grass that we’re going to play on.”
It was about more than just getting on the field and running some plays.
Kubiak wanted to test the communication between the coaches and players in an environment that closely simulates a game day.
“Coaches communicating with the headsets; which is really important for the whole operation,” Kubiak said. “Obviously, it’s my first game in there. Played a few games on the other side of the stadium, but it’ll be really important for players and coaches to get familiar with our surroundings so that we can play our best football on Thursday night.”
Here are some other observations from Tuesday’s practice at Allegiant Stadium:
AOC just misses the double
Third-string quarterback Aidan O’Connell has not been shy about pushing the ball downfield as he has had a strong training camp.
He nearly connected on back-to-back deep balls on Tuesday.
After hitting Brandon Johnson on a double move down the left sideline for what would have been a long touchdown, O’Connell barely overthrew Shedrick Jackson in the same area of the field.
The throw to Johnson was probably the highlight of the night, along with a long touchdown run by Ashton Jeanty.
Kicker competition remains static
Matt Gay continues to have an edge over rookie Kansei Matsuzawa in the battle to win placekicking duties.
Both hit an extra point and a 38-yard field goal in one drill before they each missed left from 50 yards, though Gay’s smacked off the upright.
Gay then hit the long field goal to cap the first-team offensive drive in the two-minute drill before Matsuzawa missed short and right from 58 yards to keep the third-team offense off the board.
Zuhn continues to show versatility
Rookie Trey Zuhn III has played all over the line in training camp, but he has been taking the second-team reps at center the last couple practices.
He has declined to share his preferred position after playing several positions in college, but there is certainly a spot to be one as nobody has separated from the competition as the backup to Tyler Linderbaum.
Fellow rookie Treydan Stukes continued to see first-team reps in the secondary.
Favorite target
Malik Benson said earlier Tuesday he has felt a connection with Mendoza since they met at the scouting combine.
That continues to show up on the field.
Benson has emerged as Mendoza’s favorite target when they are playing together on the second unit.
It could be a connection to watch on Thursday against the Cardinals.
Big guy has hands
Connor Heyward will largely be used as a blocking fullback in Kubiak’s offense, but he has shown he is capable of making a play for himself when called upon as well.
Heyward spun to his opposite shoulder while backpedaling in the right flat and hauled in a pass from Cousins that was slightly off-target.
He has 44 catches for 379 yards and three touchdowns in his four-year career, adding two rushing touchdowns last season.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
