HOUSTON — Fernando Mendoza emerged Thursday from the visitors’ locker room at Reliant Stadium, wearing his silver Las Vegas Raiders polo with a subdued sense of personal dismay. Yes, the Raiders rallied their way to a 22-20 preseason comeback victory over the hosting Houston Texans.
No thanks, though, to the rookie quarterback.
“There’s a lot more learning to do,” he said, devoid of his often chipper demeanor after leading the Raiders to a 20-3 hole. “Although maybe you had a lot of success at another level. … This is a whole step further and the margins are so small. One tiny mistake can lead to catastrophe.”
It can and it did.
Mendoza’s misfired first-quarter checkdown to rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. wound up in the hands of linebacker Wade Woodaz, who sprinted down the sideline for an 80-yard score. He settled after a three-and-out and helped the Raiders to a field goal — finding a rhythm on the following possession that stalled on a third-down drop by rookie wideout Malik Benson.
After five drives behind shaky protection, Mendoza completed 8 of 15 passes for 86 yards and the interception. The first team cheered him on from the sideline and offered him support after his first preseason turnover, but Mendoza couldn’t hide his disappointment as his harshest critic.
“All you can do is look forward,” he said from his perch at the postgame dais. “The only thing that I can control at this moment on this podium … is controlling my next play. So, (whether) that’s the next play in practice whenever we practice next.
“Whether it’s the first play I get to play (next week in the preseason finale) against (the) San Francisco (49ers). It’s controlling the next play.”
A joint practice Tuesday against the Texans — during which he handled snaps for the first-team offense — foreshadowed Thursday’s resistance for Mendoza, who threw a pick-6 at the goal line. Coach Klint Kubiak’s preseason plan would call for Mendoza to start against Houston (after Kirk Cousins started the preseason opener at quarterback) with wide receiver Jalen Nailor the lone first-teamer accompanying the offense.
A 22-yard strike to Nailor served as a showcase of Mendoza’s talent, blending the anticipation, arm strength and accuracy that made him the No. 1 overall draft pick. The throw to Washington two plays later functioned as a showcase of his inexperience.
After faking a handoff to Washington, Mendoza shirked a checkdown in the flat, he said, dropping farther and farther back to pass. By the time he progressed to Washington — who broke left after settling underneath — Woodaz had a bead on his intended target and snagged a pass that was thrown behind it. Mendoza’s explanation: “Probably should’ve checked it down to the flat. … At that point I started backing up and threw the checkdown to (Washington) and it was not a good throw. We were not on the same page.”
In uniform but without pads, defensive end Maxx Crosby encouraged Mendoza on the sideline — along with several of their veteran teammates. Nailor highlighted Mendoza’s poise and said he “windshield-wiped” and “went onto the next play,” just as he has after training camp mistakes.
“He wants to get better,” Nailor said in the locker room. “No matter if it’s a good play or a bad play, he wants to learn from each and every play he’s out there. … We’ve got his back and no matter what happens, man, we’ve got to keep going. There’s a lot of ball to be played.”
Benson’s drop capped a promising drive during which he caught an 18-yard pass from Mendoza before attempting to run upfield without securing the pass by the sideline. His final possession was a three-and-out that included a broken-up pass to Benson.
Aidan O’Connell (15-of-24 passing for 166 yards) quaterbacked Las Vegas in the second half, leading a last-minute go-ahead drive that he capped with a 1-yard touchdown run. Asked to assess his performance and the game, Mendoza made clear he was happy for the win.
Silver (and black) lining. His development continues.
“There’s plenty (for Mendoza) to clean up,” Kubiak said. “Plenty to get better at. Plenty that we can do better for him as coaches. Plenty that he can learn from. … The response is what we’ve come to expect from him.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
