Fernando Mendoza makes some plays in Raiders’ preseason debut

The Las Vegas Raiders opened the 2026 NFL preseason Thursday night at home in a 27-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Here are some notes from game:

• No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza debuted on the Raiders’ second drive, late in the first quarter. He played with the second-team offense after coach Klint Kubiak said he could play with some first-team offensive linemen. But potential starter Jack Bech played and converted his second third-down of the game, this time with Mendoza. Bech had nice connections with rookie Malik Benson and hit Bech for a touchdown (his third third down conversion) to tie the game at 14-14 on Mendoza’s second drive, which he was impressive on. He threw some darts. Mendoza played into the fourth quarter. He went 10 of 16 passing for 96 yards and was sacked once. Was it a great night for the rookie? No, was it a solid, nice, promising start that he and the team can build upon? For sure.
• Rookie Trey Zuhn played right tackle with the second team. He had been playing some recently, but has shown he’s versatile.
• Washington sparked a second-quarter touchdown drive with a beautiful 53-yard run and he then converted a fourth down. The fourth-round pick could be a big part of the offense. He has a burst. He also got a great block from left tackle Charles Grant, who could end up in the mix at right tackle.

• The first-team offense, led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, started the game. Cousins hit Bech for a 10-yard catch on third down to open the game. Then, Ashton Jeanty had a nice run on third down, followed by big pass plays from Cousins to Tre Tucker and then a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Mayer to cap a 10-play, 68-yard drive that took just more than five minutes. In Kubiak’s first drive (yes, it’s the preseason) as the Raiders’ head coach and offensive playcaller, he led a great drive. Cousins was 5 of 6 passing for 50 yards on the drive. They were three-for-three on third down on the drive. Cousins has been efficient all training camp and it translated to the preseason.
• The first-team offensive made holes for Jeanty and got a nice push. A nice start to the Rick Dennison era.
• The Raiders’ first-team defense didn’t far as well. The Cardinals sliced them up in the passing game, led by quarterback Jacoby Brissett. They had a 18-yard gainer on third and 11. Cornerbacks Eric Stokes and Darien Porter had a tough drive as Arizona tied the game late in the first quarter. Brissett hit Marvin Harrison Jr. for a game-tying score to cap a 10-play, 73-yard drive.
• Led by former Raider Gardner Minshew, the Cardinals went right down the field on their second drive to take a 14-7 lead. Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and rookie defensive end Keyron Crawford has some struggles on the drive and the Raiders had some penalty issues. Backup linebacker Cody Lindenberg, a core special teamer as a rookie, looked good at linebacker. Rookie Jermod McCoy, playing in his first game since a 2024 knee injury, was beat for a touchdown on the drive. The Cardinals were 10-for 10 passing on the first two series. Minshew led another great offensive series as the Cardinals scored on their third series. McCoy had another rough series. The Cardinals were 15-for-15 passing in the first half and had 78 rushing yards in the half.
• The Raiders were sloppy (which predictable for this time of year) and had eight penalties for 75 yards. That’s something to work on next week.

• Star defensive end Maxx Crosby did not play in the game. Kubiak said earlier this week he didn’t know if Crosby, who is coming back from an offseason knee surgery, would play. He has been practicing during all of training camp. He was in pads during pre-game warmups, though.
• Part owner Tom Brady at the game as he has been in the past during the preseason.

• Jackson Powers-Johnson was starting at a guard spot and Caleb Rogers was with the backups. They had been rotating during camp in recent days, That battle will likely continue in training camp. Powers-Johnson played in the second quarter with Mendoza.
• Porter started while rookie Jermod McCoy and Zeke McCoy worked with the second team. Recent camp standout Decamerion Richardson wasn’t suited up. Also, second-year wide receiver Dont’e Thornton, who been out for an undisclosed reason for about a week, was also out.

• The Raiders haven’t named captains for the season yet, but Thursday night they were Brock Bowers, Nakobe Dean and Segun Olubi. Dean and Olubi were free-agent additions this offseason.

• Deven Thompkins and rookie running back Mike Washington started the game as kick returners. Washington also was on the field on the first drive some. Thompkins had a nice night returning kicks.
• Rookie kicker Kansei Matzuzawa kicked off to start the second half and it went out of bounds. He then missed a 38-yarder. Matt Gay may be in the driver’s seat to replace Daniel Carlson.
• On a night much of the defensive line struggled, undrafted free agent defensive tackle Gary Smith flashed some.
• Greedy Vance had a nice night at nickel corner on an otherwise rough night for the young defensive backs.
• Promising undrafted free-agent Cian Slone had a sack in the fourth quarter.
• No. 3 quarterback Aidan O’Connell finished the game and was 4 of 13 for 85 yards. He should get plenty of time in the final two games to perhaps try to drum up some trade interest.

Overall, it was a typical preseason game. There will ups and downs. The first-unit offense looked extremely sharp. Mendoza flashed as did Bech and Washington. The defnese? Well, it was a tough night against both the run and the pass.

Now, it’s back to training camp with a month to go before the regular season starts.