Sizing up Fernando Mendoza’s preseason debut, according to the rookie QB and his coach

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Fernando Mendoza did much to impress in his preseason debut. The rookie quarterback played a clean game in the team’s 27-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Mendoza led the Raiders down the field on his second possession, finishing the drive with his first professional touchdown (albeit in exhibition action), connecting with receiver Jack Bech in the end zone for a six-yard score. He then completed four straight passes on his final drive to push the Raiders into the red zone before narrowly missing receiver Deven Thompkins for another TD.

“I see an ascending player,” head coach Klint Kubiak said of Mendoza postgame. “We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

Mendoza finished 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown. His connection with fellow rookie Malik Benson — off a play-action dropback and through three defenders — displayed the arm talent necessary for NFL throws and showed his ability to play from under center. Finding poise to throw a touchdown a few plays after running into a sack also showed the resiliency that’s needed to play the position at this level.

“He did a great job,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “He moved the football, he scored points, gave us a chance to score points and operated well.”

Mendoza, however, chose not to relish in his highlights.

“Unfortunately, I let my teammates down today,” Mendoza said. “But it’s a growing experience. I feel like we’re all growing and it helped me show that I need to grow a lot.”

The top pick of April’s NFL Draft has brought nothing but positive energy since arriving in Las Vegas. But at the end of an evening that served, in part, as a celebration of the franchise’s new era, he chose to focus on his faults.

Subbing in after Cousins led the starters on a touchdown drive, Mendoza said he felt sped up on his first snaps. He extended his first possession with a third-down completion to Bech on the sideline, but threw rookie running back Mike Washington Jr. into a hard-hitting pass breakup a few plays later. As the Raiders were forced to punt, Mendoza said he needed to “come back to the sidelines and learn from my mistakes.”

He was pleased with his touchdown drive; he gave credit to Washington for setting the score up with a 53-yard breakaway run. He added that Bech made a great catch and the offensive line made great blocks to allow for the third-and-goal touchdown. Mendoza was more interested in talking about his missed reads on his third drive — a three-and-out that concluded with a pair of incompletions — than his first professional touchdown pass. And there was no mention of his string of completions on his final drive, just the missed connection with Thompkins.

The rookie recapped his mistakes while being his jovial self. He joked about players being faster than he thought at the NFL level, preventing him from bending a corner on a scramble. He obliged to take reporters through his gameday routine, detailing his first drive to the stadium and his stretching procedure. But undertones of dissatisfaction carried through his first postgame press conference.

Mendoza’s demanding assessment of his play may stem from what he saw before him. The rookie watched as the veteran Cousins diced up the Cardinals defense on his lone drive, completing five of his six passes for 50 yards, including a 13-yard score to tight end Michael Mayer. Mendoza praised Cousins’ precision.

“Kirk has this time and anticipation. It’s like boom, boom, boom,” Mendoza said. “That’s an area I have to grow in.”

The Raiders have emphasized their quarterback competition is symbiotic, with Cousins and Mendoza working with each other, not against each other. Still, comparison is only natural. Mendoza has seen Cousins compete throughout camp, but watching the Cousins’ command of Kubiak’s offense in-game was more of an awakening of where he stands. Cousins’ performance also made the head coach reaffirm the veteran remains the favorite to start Week 1.

“It’s his job to lose,” Kubiak said of Cousins.

The Raiders’ preference to play Cousins early could ease the pressure on Mendoza; the rookie instead seems to be putting more pressure on himself to meet the veteran’s standard.

Mendoza said that, on Wednesday night, minority owner Tom Brady addressed the team ahead of the preseason game, offering a message to those playing their first NFL snaps.

“He said, ‘No matter how good of a high school or college player you were, the NFL’s a different level,’” Mendoza said. “I felt that tonight, and I have a lot to grow from.”