While the Las Vegas Raiders dropped their first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals 27-14, there’s still a buzz in the Las Vegas air. That’s because quarterback/No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft Fernando Mendoza had a strong Raiders debut, and it’s not like the final score matters in the big picture anyway. As a result, Mendoza leads off the first winners and losers of the 2026 season.
WINNER: Fernando Mendoza
The Heisman Trophy winner put up a solid stat line, completing 10 of 16 pass attempts (62.5%) for 97 yards
and a touchdown with no interceptions. But the numbers don’t even tell the full story. After his first drive, Mendoza settled in and looked comfortable in Klint Kubiak’s offense, consistently working through his reads and finding his checkdowns to take what the defense was giving him and keep the offense on schedule.
He also made a handful of smart decisions by throwing the ball away three times, per Pro Football Focus, instead of putting it in harm’s way. Couple that with a few missiles over the middle to fit passes into tight windows, one for a first down and another for a touchdown, and there was plenty to be encouraged about from the No. 1 overall pick in his first NFL game.
LOSER: Jermod McCoy
Thursday night was McCoy’s first football game in about two years, so it’s understandable that he looked a little rusty. However, getting beaten on the goal line for two touchdowns can’t be ignored. Also, the Cardinals were three-for-three when targeting him, per PFF, giving up an 11-yard catch in addition to the two scores.
The Tennessee product had trouble holding up against physicality at the top of the route versus Arizona’s pass-catchers, as former player and preseason color analyst Kirk Morrison pointed out on the Raiders’ broadcast. So, the good news is McCoy wasn’t getting beaten too badly where he was leaving receivers wide open, but finishing reps stronger should be a point of emphasis moving forward.
WINNER: Jack Bech
There was a lot of chatter about Bech this offseason, and he silenced some doubters in the first preseason game. The 2025 second-round pick caught all three targets that came his way, and the trio of grabs was impactful, with two going for first downs and one for a touchdown. He also did a good job of bailing out his quarterbacks.
Bech’s first catch came on a third down where Kirk Cousins was a little late and didn’t have much heat on the throw, allowing the cornerback to contest the catch with a big hit as the ball arrived. Then, on another third down, Mendoza was slightly off target with a high throw, but the wideout reached up and secured the grab to move the chains.
On top of that, Bech had a great crack block on a safety to help spring Mike Washington Jr. on Washington’s 53-yard run. Overall, this was a much-needed performance from the TCU product, who seems to be settling into the WR3 role.
LOSER: Hezekiah Masses
Along the same lines as McCoy, Masses also had issues in coverage and gave up completions all three times he was targeted against the Cardinals. One was a short curl that resulted in a first down, the second came on third down when he was in off coverage against a slant, and he got boxed out by a bigger receiver for another chain-moving catch. So, it’s not as if the fifth-rounder was giving up big plays, but he also didn’t make any plays to suggest that the training camp hype will translate to the regular season.
WINNER: Cian Slone
Overall, the Raiders’ pass-rush had a tough night with only seven total pressures, per PFF, on Arizona’s 32 dropbacks. But Slone had a couple of good wins around the edge, one where it looked like there was an uncalled hold and then a nice speed and cross-chop combo to get a sack. He also made a couple of tackles against the run to turn in a solid, well-rounded performance and take a step toward making the team.
LOSER: Kansei Matsuzawa
There’s still a lot of training camp left, but Matt Gay might have won the kicker competition on Thursday night. Matsuzawa had a rough showing, missing a chip-shot field goal from 38 yards and having a kickoff fall short of the landing zone and go out of bounds. Those are the types of mistakes you can’t have as a kicker, especially when accuracy is your calling card.
WINNER: Patrick Johnson
To be honest, I had never heard Patrick Johnson’s name before the matchup against the Cardinals. But he did a great job of making a name for himself, finishing second on the team in tackles with six and recording one of Las Vegas’ two sacks. According to PFF, Johnson also had two of the Raiders’ seven pressures and was the highest-graded defender with an impressive 89.4 mark. That should put the six-year veteran on the coaching staff’s radar.
LOSER: Jackson Powers-Johnson
To be fair, Powers-Johnson did have a nice pancake on one of Ashton Jeanty’s runs. However, he had some issues in pass protection by giving up a couple of pressures, including a sack, per PFF. It’s a small sample size with just 21 total snaps and 14 in pass protection. But it doesn’t help that Caleb Rogers was clean in his pass pro opportunities, not surrendering a single pressure on 12 pass blocking snaps. That’s something to keep tabs on as the right guard battle continues.
WINNER: Trey Zuhn III
Zuhn is firmly in the mix to compete for a starting spot at right tackle, taking 31 snaps at the position on Thursday. He played well too, yielding just one pressure on 20 snaps in pass protection and earning a solid 69.5 run-blocking grade from PFF. The latter is even more significant, seeing as that was one of his question marks coming out of college.
DJ Glaze did do his part to keep the job, though, winning every rep in the passing game and posting an 86.3 grade in the running game. Granted, that was on just 10 snaps, so it isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison with Zuhn. But the fact he only participated in the offense’s first drive is a good sign that the coaching staff is liking what they’re seeing from the third-year pro.
