Breaking down Fernando Mendoza’s preseason debut for Las Vegas Raiders against Arizona Cardinals

Thursday night provided the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Fernando Mendoza’s Las Vegas Raiders debut! Kind of…

Of course, it’s just the preseason, and we don’t know when Mendoza will be on the field for the regular season. Regardless, he was sharp against the Arizona Cardinals, completing 10 of 16 pass attempts (62.5%) for 97 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. To add some more context, Pro Football Focusattributed two of the rookie’s incompletions to throwaways, bumping his adjusted completion percentage up to 71.4 percent.

So, let’s flip on the tape and break down Mendoza’s first throws in the silver and black!

We’ll start with a couple of plays where there’s room for improvement to get those out of the way and end on a high note. It’s to be expected at this stage in the process, but he did show a few signs of someone who is still learning and mastering Klint Kubiak’s playbook.

The Raiders come out in a three-by-one formation and motion Jack Bech to the other side to get into a two-by-two formation. Meanwhile, the Cardinals don’t have a defender follow Bech and instead have the nickel widen, indicating they’re in zone coverage pre-snap. However, Arizona ends up playing Cover 1 or is in man coverage post-snap.

That could be part of what throws Mendoza off because he has an opportunity to hit Deven Thompkins on an in route against a corner with outside leverage. Also, the middle linebacker, who is the low-hole defender, widens toward Bech/the wide side of the field to open that window up even more.

Mendoza sees the backer take Bech away and does a good job of getting his head around to find Thompkins, and it looks like he wants to let it rip. But he hesitates instead of pulling the trigger, and the window closes as Bech also comes into that area. As a side note, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bech is supposed to either sit after breaking on the slant route or cross the linebacker’s face against this coverage because this is bad spacing on the route concepts.

Instead, the quarterback ends up scrambling and does pick up seven yards, but leaves some meat on the bone and takes an unnecessary hit.

It’s third and four this time, and there’s another potential opportunity to hit Thompkins to move the chains. The receiver runs an angle route from the slot, pushing outside to keep the nickel corner wide before breaking inside and creating some separation.

A throw with good anticipation and some heat on it could lead to a first down. But it’s understandable why Mendoza turns it down because the nickel does a pretty good job of breaking on the route to potentially make a play at the catchpoint for a PBU. Personally, I can live with that decision.

The bigger problem comes on the scramble drill. Mendoza doesn’t have his eyes all the way up while running, so he doesn’t see that the defender covering Ian Thomas slips, missing an opportunity to move the sticks and for an explosive play.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on to the positives because the No. 1 pick had plenty of encouraging throws last Thursday night.

Especially with the RPO merchant claims this offseason, something that stood out about his preseason debut was how well he did going through the progressions and finding his checkdowns when nothing was open. That also makes the first two clips less discouraging because he did show signs of picking up the playbook and understanding the structure of the play call.

The Raiders run a mirrored concept—meaning the route combinations are the same on both sides of the formation—with double outs from a two-by-two set. But the Cardinals are in a great defense for that, running Cover 4, where the outside corners can drive on the (slightly) deeper out routes and the curl-to-flat defenders are in good spots to take away the slots.

So, Mendoza starts his read to the left and immediately comes off it since the defense has the out routes coverage. Since it’s a mirrored concept, he doesn’t even have to check the other side of the field and gets right to his checkdown, running back Dylan Laube on a short curl out of the backfield. With the middle linebacker or middle hook defender getting depth initially, that’s wide open.

This throw is pretty simple since it’s just a checkdown, but look at the ball placement from the end zone view above. Mendoza does a good job of throwing Laube away from the defender by putting the ball on the ‘2’ of ‘23’, leading the running back to turn away from the linebacker and force a missed tackle to pick up the first down with some yards after the catch.

Again, this isn’t a difficult throw by any means, but it is a good read and accuracy to help move the chains.

I promise, this is the last checkdown we’ll dive into!

It’s second and goal from the 12-yard line, and Las Vegas is trying to set up a pick or rub route to running back Mike Washington Jr. in the flat. However, Arizona’s linebacker does a good job of avoiding the contact to be in a position to cover the flat by the time Washington gets his head around. So, the quarterback comes off the back and works the other side of the read.

Unfortunately, nothing is open there either. Now the pass-rush starts to come, and the pocket is collapsing on Mendoza. Luckily, he finds Thomas—who creates some separation on a whip route against the nickelback—and hits the tight end before taking a hit. Despite being under pressure, the pass is on the money for a completion that turns what could have been third and long into a third and manageable situation.

We’re moving on from the checkdowns, but the theme of the rookie working through his reads continues.

It’s second and 12 again, and the Raiders dial up another double-outs or bench concept at the top of the screen. But the Cardinals are in Cover 1 and have the two playside routes well-covered. As a result, Mendoza comes off that read and works to the backside of the progression, where he has a dig route against a corner with outside leverage.

On top of that, the middle linebacker widens toward the hash marks since the quarterback started the read to the wide side of the field, creating a bigger window in the middle of the field. So, Mendoza hits the backside dig before the pressure gets to him and manages to move the chains.

That’s great processing and a great decision, all from…under center! He also has nice footwork in the pocket with his feet tied to his eyes while working through the reads.

This is another throw that Raider Nation should get excited about, partially because another narrative surrounding the Indiana product is that he doesn’t throw over the middle.

The Raiders come out in 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) to get the Cardinals to keep three linebackers on the field in base personnel. Meanwhile, the Cardinals try to get tricky with their coverage by rotating the boundary safety down when Bech motions across the formation, giving a single-high look pre-snap. However, both safeties get depth to run a variation of Cover 2 post-snap.

On top of that, Vegas dials up a play-action pass, which gets the linebackers to freeze on the run fake and then ROBOT (or turn and run) while working for depth instead of being able to keep eyes on the quarterback. Then, Mendoza sees the open window between the two second-level defenders and knows Malik Benson will be sitting in it on the deep curl route from the slot.

By the time No. 50 (linebacker at the bottom of the screen) gets his head around, the quarterback has already started his throwing motion. So, the ball whizzes past the backer’s ear, through the window and into Benson’s hands for a first down. That’s great understanding of where the defense is vulnerable with the personnel that’s on the field and the play call, while also being a great throw with the anticipation and velocity to beat the coverage.

On top of that, Benson can help the quarterback out more by taking another step or two toward the hash marks to create some more space between himself and No. 50.

Another tight-window throw over the middle that shows off the Heisman Trophy winner’s arm strength and ability to attack openings in the defense.

Las Vegas comes out in a two-by-two formation with the passing strength to the left since the running back is on that side of the quarterback to tilt the numbers a bit. However, Washington shifts to the other side of Mendoza to change the passing strength to the right and get the middle linebacker to move one step closer to the middle of the field.

The latter is a minor adjustment, but it’s significant with the offense’s play call because Bech is running a slant against a nickel corner with outside leverage on the Raiders’ quick game concept. Even though the linebacker only moved one step, that widens the window a little more for the slot receiver. Additionally, the back takes another step toward the passing strength and is occupied by the tight end (Thomas) on the sit route.

Mendoza takes all the information the defense is giving him pre-snap and knows where he wants to go with the football. He doesn’t waste any time after the snap, taking a one-step drop and letting it rip to hit Bech for another tight-window throw, and for his first NFL touchdown this time.

Fittingly, we’ll wrap up with the rookie’s last throw of the game, and it was a frustrating one as this should have been his second touchdown of the night.

It’s third and long, and it looks like this play is designed to hit Thomas in the flat for an easy catch and run to at least set up a go-for-it situation on fourth down. Thompkins is in the slot and releases inside on a corner route, setting up a pick or rub for the tight end against man coverage. There’s no doubt Thomas is open, but with the defenders colliding and the free safety still on the far hash mark in Cover 1, Mendoza sees an opportunity for a bigger play.

Thompkins is open too, and the quarterback tries to call his number. However, instead of exploding out of the cut, the receiver slows down a bit and has to lay out for the catch rather than running under it for a touchdown. It’s also worth noting that Thompkins is just 5-foot-8 and has 30.5-inch arms. One has to imagine a longer receiver can come down with the grab because the ball is right where it needs to be.

While an argument could be made that Mendoza should just stay within the play design and take the completion, I wouldn’t fault a quarterback for being aggressive and taking an opportunity to put points on the board in this situation. Especially when the easy throw is short of the sticks on third down, and he holds up his end of the bargain.

Overall, it wasn’t a perfect night from the No. 1 overall pick. But there was plenty of reason for Raider Nation to be optimistic about the future.