Fernando Mendoza’s Raiders Debut Has Fans Buzzing After TD Pass vs. Cardinals

Fernando Mendoza took his first NFL snaps on Thursday night, and Raiders fans were watching every one of them.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft made his preseason debut for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium. The final score didn’t go Las Vegas’s way — the Cardinals won 27-14 — but for a rookie quarterback trying to show his new organization something, the scoreboard was almost beside the point.

Mendoza entered on the Raiders’ second offensive drive, late in the first quarter, working behind the second-team offensive line. According to Yahoo Sports, head coach Klint Kubiak had said beforehand that Mendoza could see snaps with some first-team linemen mixed in, and that’s roughly how it played out. By the time the night was over, Mendoza had gone 10 of 16 for 97 yards and a touchdown, connecting with receiver Jack Bech on a 6-yard scoring strike that tied the game at 14-14.

That touchdown wasn’t just a nice moment for a rookie. Per the Associated Press, via CBS Sports, Mendoza became the first No. 1 overall pick to throw a touchdown pass in his preseason debut since Baker Mayfield did it for Cleveland back in 2018. He also nearly had a second one in the fourth quarter, overthrowing receiver Deven Thompkins on a shot down the field.

Mendoza shared quarterback reps with veteran Kirk Cousins, who is set to open the regular season as Las Vegas’s starter, and fellow backup Aidan O’Connell. He wasn’t sacked more than once and didn’t turn the ball over — two boxes any coaching staff wants checked in a rookie’s first live look, regardless of the final result.

Kubiak liked what he saw.

“I thought he led a good scoring drive as far as getting in and out of the huddle and commanding the group and getting the play calls down,” Kubiak said, according to the Associated Press, via ClickOnDetroit. “I saw the same guy that we’ve seen in practice. I see an ascending player.”

NFL fans react to Fernando Mendoza’s first game for the Raiders

Cousins will start Week 1 as Las Vegas’s QB1, but plenty of eyes were locked on Mendoza on Thursday, given what it cost the Raiders to get him — the first overall pick in April’s draft. Kubiak, in his first year as head coach, has been careful not to rush the rookie’s timeline. Still, what fans saw against Arizona’s second-string defense got a few of them fired up about what’s coming.

The NFL’s own account on X posted highlights from the outing, including a throw fit into a tight window: NFL posted on X: “Fernando Mendoza threading the needle!” —

Fernando Mendoza threading the needle!

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PC9UPZvRxA

— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2026

Reaction under that post and elsewhere on social media ran hot. One fan wrote, “I’ve seen enough. Welcome back Tom Brady.” Another, referencing that same tight-window completion, called it an “absolute laser beam.” A third fan focused on the mechanics of the throw itself: “The window he fit that ball into was impressive.”

Others leaned into the moment more broadly. “He only gets better and better! Let’s go!” one fan posted. Another tied Mendoza’s poise back to the man who helped bring him to Las Vegas — part-owner Tom Brady, who according to Silver and Black Pride was in attendance for the game, as he has been for past preseason contests. “Looking a little Bradyish right here…” the fan wrote. A separate post simply read, “Fernando is so fun to watch.”

It’s worth keeping the moment in context. Mendoza was facing Arizona’s backups in a preseason opener — not the kind of competition that tells a franchise everything it needs to know. The Cardinals, for what it’s worth, had their own strong showing under center: Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew combined to go 15 of 15 for 123 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, per CBS Sports.

Still, a clean, mistake-free debut with a touchdown pass is exactly the kind of first step Las Vegas wanted from its rookie quarterback. The Raiders are back in preseason action next Thursday at Houston.

Fernando Mendoza’s preseason debut by the numbers