Nothing says preseason football quite like a game with 10 field goals and no touchdowns, as the Las Vegas Raiders fell to the San Francisco 49ers 18-12. That drops the Raiders to 1-2 over the last three weeks, officially wraps up training camp, and sets up the final winners and losers before the regular season.
LOSER: Fernando Mendoza
I cut Mendoza some slack last week, but it’s hard to ignore back-to-back games with interceptions. This time, he got greedy and tried to fit a ball into a very tight window while targeting
the 5-foot-11 Jalen Nailor. To be fair, Mendoza managed to get the ball over the linebacker, and a bigger/taller receiver might have been able to come down with it. But it was the wrong throw/decision for the pass-catcher he was throwing to.
Also, the Raiders’ offense operates more smoothly with Kirk Cousins behind center right now. Of course, that’s to be expected since he’s the veteran and has played in Klint Kubiak’s system before. However, that’s another strong sign that the rookie won’t be the team’s Week 1 starter, and it feels like any hopes of that ended on Thursday night.
WINNER: Mike Washington Jr.
Washington has been deserving of some recognition in the winners column but hasn’t gotten it yet. That had nothing to do with his play, though, and everything to do with the fact that he’s held down the second running back job essentially since he was drafted. But that changes because not only did the Arkansas product have another strong outing with eight carries for 49 yards (6.1 ypc), he also eased some concerns if Ashton Jeanty has to miss some time.
The rookie provided some hope that he’s capable of taking on a bigger role if needed and that he can be more than just a home-run hitter out of the backfield.
LOSER: Aidan O’Connell
In a way, this preseason has summarized O’Connell’s tenure in Las Vegas. He’s been up and down, with a shaky outing in the first contest against the Cardinals, then was much better to lead a game-winning drive last week, and had another tough performance on Thursday night. If the Silver and Black were hoping to shop the fourth-year pro ahead of cutdown day, going three-for-nine with 32 passing yards didn’t exactly help matters.
WINNER: JJ Pegeus
The Raiders have been looking for defensive tackles to step up all preseason, and not many had answered the call in the first two games. However, Pegues made a statement against San Francisco, standing out against the run with four tackles, the majority of which were near the line of scrimmage.
He also made a few plays that won’t show up on the stat sheet by plugging up gaps to make runs bounce, and he had a great rep as a pass rusher, pushing the pocket with a bull rush and getting his hands up to record a batted pass. If the 2025 sixth-round pick was on the bubble heading into the game, he certainly made a strong case to stay on the roster.
LOSER: Atonio Mafi
I thought Mafi had a chance to make the team with what he was bringing as a run blocker. But he’s been a problem in pass protection, and that continued in the third preseason game by giving up another sack. The franchise needs to protect its investment in Mendoza, and it’s becoming clear that the fourth-year lineman isn’t up for the job.
WINNER: Brandon Cleveland
Along the same lines as Pegues, Cleveland had a much-needed outing to boost his odds of making the team. The seventh-round pick tied for the team lead with five total tackles and led the club outright with a pair of TFLs. He also had an impressive win as a pass-rusher to get a quarterback hit and was in the 49ers’ backfield on several occasions throughout the night. That should give the coaching staff something to think about ahead of cutdown day.
LOSER: Wide Receivers
To cut the quarterbacks mentioned above some slack, it seemed like the Raiders’ wide receivers struggled to get open. The passing game was filled with a lot of check downs, and there wasn’t a receiver who really stood out against San Francisco. Tre Tucker led the team with 25 receiving yards and no one else even eclipsed 20 yards, while the group had a handful of drops on the evening.
Kubiak called out the position group after last week’s game and can’t be much happier with what he saw on Thursday night. Even after cutdown day, the receivers at the bottom of the roster shouldn’t feel comfortable because it seems like the Silver and Black will be taking a long look at the position on the waiver wire.
WINNER: Cameron McGrone
It will be interesting to see how many linebackers the coaching staff wants to keep, and if there’s an open spot, McGrone made a strong case to fill it. He was flying around all night, showing off some impressive instincts to tie Cleveland and Greedy Vance for the team lead in total tackles (five). At the least, that could have earned the 26-year-old one of the six veteran practice squad spots.
