No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza picked up right where he left off after leading Indiana to a national championship this past January.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner showed a lot of positive signs in his preseason debut with the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night.
Mendoza replaced Kirk Cousins after the veteran led the Raiders right down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive.
Across five drives, Mendoza finished 10-for-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by a 10-play, 79-yard drive in the second quarter.
Mendoza’s best throw of the day came on the opening play of that drive, completing a 19-yard comeback route to Malik Benson, threading it between three Arizona Cardinals defenders.
After a 53-yard run from Mike Washington Jr., the Raiders were set up in the red zone. Mendoza followed with two short completions, including one to fellow Hoosier Ian Thomas. That completion set up a third-and-goal situation from the 6-yard line.
Mendoza dropped back and found Jack Bech across the middle for the score. There were multiple Cardinals in the area, but Mendoza threw it low, allowing Bech to corral it comfortably without a chance for a deflection that could’ve led to a turnover.
The potential face of the franchise showed his maturity time and time again throughout the game. In addition to his pinpoint accuracy, Mendoza did not panic when his first option was not open on multiple occasions. Rather than forcing a dangerous pass into tight coverage, he would check it down to the running back for a short gain.
Though Mendoza faces an uphill battle to start in Week 1, Thursday’s performance showed that he will be ready when his name is called. He comes from an Indiana program led by a perfection-demanding head coach in Curt Cignetti. He is now coached by Klint Kubiak, who turned Sam Darnold from a career backup into a Super Bowl champion in one season.
Mendoza wasn’t the only former Hoosier who shined on Thursday night. His predecessor at Indiana, 49ers third-stringer Kurtis Rourke, completed 12 of 14 passes for 101 yards in his outing. Steelers rookie tight end Riley Nowakowski hauled in a touchdown catch from Drew Allar. Rookie linebacker Devan Boykin made a couple of nice plays as well for Pittsburgh.
No. 1 Pick Fernando Mendoza Makes His Preseason Raiders Debut 🔥
10/16, 97 PYDS, 1 PTD, 0 INT pic.twitter.com/OuUwM3mY00
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) August 14, 2026
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