Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) scrambles during a preseason NFL football game agains ...
Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) scrambles during a preseason NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @madelinepcarter
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensive ...
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensive ...
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) gets sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensiv ...
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) gets sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensiv ...
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak looks on during the first half of a preseason NFL game against ...
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak looks on during the first half of a preseason NFL game against ...
Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) tries to avoid getting sacked by San Francisco 49ers ...
Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) tries to avoid getting sacked by San Francisco 49ers ...
Fernando Mendoza is down to play three more preseason games for the Las VegasRaiders, who ended their exhibition schedule Thursday with an 18-12 loss to the San Francisco49ers.
Said the top draft pick in a black Raiders polo from the bowels of Allegiant Stadium: “I would love unlimited games for development.”
Instead, it’s on to his rookie season.
Mendoza capped his three-game preseason as the second-team passer against San Francisco, completing 7 of 14 passes for 57 yards with a first-quarter pick and 9 rushing yards. He quarterbacked four first-half drives (and played his first drive with the starting offense, save for Tyler Linderbaum, replaced at center by Trey Zuhn III) after Kirk Cousins guided the opening two — maintaining his position for one second-half drive before ceding it to Aidan O’Connell.
All told against backup defenders while operating behind a backup offensive line, Mendoza completed 25 of 45 passes for 240 yards, a touchdown and two picks while absorbing four sacks. His second pass Thursday was a touch too high for wide receiver Jalen Nailor to handle over the middle, bouncing off of his fingertips and into the hands of 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune.
“He needs another three preseason games,” Las Vegas coach Klint Kubiak said, declining again as he has all long to name a Week 1 starter at quarterback. “All those rookies do, and now that the season is starting, the practice reps get smaller and that’s just life. But us as coaches, we’ve got to get him ready to play and keep developing him.”
Mendoza’s modest statistical showing doesn’t reflect the ways he feels he has evolved as a quarterback in the last four weeks, learning from Kubiak, Cousins and O’Connell. In practices and preseason play, he has flashed his arm strength, accuracy and poise — and also a need to learn the nuances of quarterbacking in the NFL.
For every pass he has needled through defenders to targets not yet out of their breaks, there’s another delivered a touch too late or a touch too high over the middle in traffic. For every dropback he has worked through his progressions to find a target for a sizable gain, there’s another during which he’s a beat too late.
“The NFL is really tough,” Mendoza said through his signature smile, his optimism abloom in defeat. “There’s a big jump going from college to the NFL and the speed and — there’s just so many different aspects. And the NFL is a tough business I look forward to taking on with my teammates.”
That’s why the Raiders invested in Cousins, four times a Pro Bowler as a fourth-round draft pick, to model for Mendoza the rhythm and timing required to burnish his top-end talent. Devoid of Mendoza’s mobility and arm strength, he picked apart their defense during training camp by diagnosing coverage quickly and efficiently — knowing his targets before they uncovered.
Unsurprising considering he’s preparing for his 15th season instead of his first.
“It’s (learning) from his reps,” Kubiak said, affirming resistance is a blessing for Mendoza. “It’s learning from Kirk’s reps, from Aidan’s reps. Very valuable for him to get all those reps. I’d love to play him the whole game but there’s other guys we want to get looked at.”
Though Mendoza’s performance and effectiveness wavered, his will and focus remained intact and steeled amid the ups and downs he was bound to face. Cousins is the presumptive starting quarterback — with Kubiak noting after the preseason opener that it’s his job to lose — and Mendoza can develop without the pressure to turn the Raiders around this season, the first of their rebuild with their first-year coach.
Mendoza has faith in the organization — along with unwavering faith in himself.
“There’s been highs and there’s been lows, but I believe from the first day of training camp until now, I’ve exponentially been a better quarterback,” the reigning Heisman Trophy winner said. “It might not seem like it on paper because or maybe (on track) with outside expectations, just because there’s been so many — I’ve been blessed with so many great experiences this past year. … I’m very grateful for the highs and lows of training camp and I believe I’m growing a lot as a player because of the great coaches, great teammates and great organization I’m a part of it.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.