Although the Las Vegas Raiders lost to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, fans got to see the long-awaited debut of Fernando Mendoza in the Silver and Black. He took the field with the second-team offense to a chorus of very ecstatic fans in Allegiant Stadium.
During his first action in the NFL, Mendoza was precise. He made three really sublime throws that were highlight-level. The only thing that he didn't do right was slide to the ground on a scramble during his touchdown drive in the second quarter.
Other than that, he was practically flawless with his decision-making.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Mendoza's debut was his postgame press conference. He felt that he didn't play well enough and wanted to be held accountable for his mistakes. Being as humble as he is will help him in the long run. Wanting perfection is impossible, but striving for it is great.
How Fernando Mendoza fared compared to other quarterbacks
When it comes to how others fared before him, long time starter Derek Carr had practically the exact same numbers in his Raiders debut. Even Jamarcus Russell began his career in a win over the Arizona Cardinals back in 2007, but he played worse than Mendoza.
Around the league today, the Pittsburgh Steelers' Drew Allar had more production than Mendoza, but the Green Bay Packers had their backups in by the time he went in. Mendoza got quality time against Arizona's starters and will get to play against one of the NFL's best defenses in preseason Week 2.
2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward struggled against the 49ers in his first preseason game this year. Bryce Young did not play in the Panthers win' over Arizona in the Hall of Fame Game.
Carson Beck was held out of the game on Thursday, but played well in the loss to Carolina a week ago. Jared Goff was a non-participant in the loss to Cincinatti, while Joe Burrow was efficient for the Bengals, but still took some shots because of his continuous, shaky offensive line.
Going back further in time, Baker Mayfield debuted to the tune of over 200 yards passing, and the Browns felt as though they found their franchise quarterback. Hall of Famer Peyton Manning was more of a bit inconsistent in his much-anticipated debut for the Colts way back in the late 1990s. So, the results differ, but there's no doubt the Raiders had top love what they saw.
Overall, it was a positive debut for the Raiders' franchise quarterback. He was in command of the offense and showed off his arm strength with some fastballs to his receivers. His ball fake is drawing rave reviews, too.
It's easy to get excited because Mendoza looks ahead of schedule after one preseason game. Moving forward it wouldn't be a surprise if Kirk Cousins sat the rest of the preseason, giving Mendoza ample time to speed up his process in case he is needed in a pinch.
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