How Raiders' Mendoza Can Use Struggles to Advantage

Fernando Mendoza and the Las Vegas Raiders were having a solid opening drive against the Houston Texans on Thursday night.

Mendoza hit Jalen Nailor on a 22-yard pass for a chunk gain, while Mike Washington Jr. continued to impress with another long run. It looked like Las Vegas was on its way to scoring on the opening drive.

Then, Wade Woodaz happened.

The Pick Six

Houston's rookie linebacker took advantage of poor footwork and a late read from Mendoza, jumping in front of the check-down and taking the interception back the other way for a pick-six.

Aug 20, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Wade Woodaz (30) returns Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) interception for an 80 yard touchdown in the first quarter at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It wasn't much better for the Raiders' future franchise quarterback in the rest of the half, as he completed only eight passes for 86 yards and didn't lead a touchdown drive. It ended up not mattering because the Raiders came back and won in the second half, thanks to Aidan O'Connell.

However, O'Connell isn't the future starter in Las Vegas; Mendoza is. The Raiders need him to learn from this performance and move forward.

That's exactly what he has the chance to do: use this outing as a learning experience and improve as he heads into his next game.

How Mendoza Is Moving On

One of the first things I noticed when O'Connell led the comeback (or, really, when any other player had a big play) was that Mendoza was there cheering them on and being a supportive teammate. Oftentimes, young players will hang their heads, but Mendoza is more mature than that.

This kind of performance illustrates exactly what minority owner Tom Brady got on his soapbox about last year when it comes to quarterback development: if the Raiders were competing for a playoff spot, and Mendoza had that kind of game, it may outright ruin his confidence.

The Raiders will give Mendoza meaningful reps in the preseason because the outcome of the game doesn't matter, allowing him to get real game action without debilitating consequences. It is good for him to get games like this out of the way, so they don't happen when meaningful team aspirations are on the line.

Mendoza and the Raiders take on the San Francisco 49ers next week. We will see how Klint Kubiak approaches playing starters or how he divvies up the snaps among his quarterbacks, but Thursday showed that Mendoza needs more snaps to bounce back.

No one should overreact to how Mendoza played, but it is perfectly reasonable to say he must play better. He has one more preseason game to do that.

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