Fernando Mendoza made his NFL debut Sunday, Oct. 11, in a lopsided effort, as his Las Vegas Raiders lost to the New England Patriots 45-17.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak sent the 2026 No. 1 overall pick
in for his first-regular season action with 6 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the game for Las Vegas' final offensive possession of the defeat. Mendoza's first snap was a handoff to Dylan Laube.
Mendoza completed his first five pass attempts – hitting Laube for two yards for his first completion, Ian Thomas for nine yards on the next play for his first first down completion and then Tre Tucker for 16 yards – and finished 6-for-8 passing for 48 yards as the Patriots played prevent defense down the stretch with the game decided.
The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner tried to pick up a first down on fourth-and-4 and the ball on the Patriots’ 14-yard line with 2:42 remining, but he was hit and pushed out of bounds one yard shy of the marker.
During the preseason, Mendoza completed 25 of 45 passing attempts for 240 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Raiders starting quarterback Kirk Cousins – who finished 19-of-28 passing for 243 yards and a touchdown on Sunday – had taken every offensive snap of the season before Mendoza entered against the Patriots.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had been in a similar situation as Mendoza – a high draft pick not asked to play immediately and instead learn behind a veteran. Maye said last week that he had only met Mendoza once but has heard good things.
"I really respect the way he speaks about his faith, handles the media and just tries to be himself," Maye said of Mendoza. "I think he’s got a bright future in this league, and I know whenever his time is, it’s going to come, and he’s going to do his thing. But right now, Kirk is playing some good football."
Maye finished his best game of the season with 374 passing yards and five total touchdowns (four passing).
After winning the first three games of the season, the Raiders are now 3-2 following back-to-back losses.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Heisman winner, Raiders' No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza fared in NFL debut
