Silver And Black Pride on Fernando Mendoza

ArticleFernando Mendoza gets his feet wet in live action
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Fernando Mendoza, the Las Vegas Raiders 2026 #1 overall pick, saw his first live action of the regular season. At the end of a 45-17 blowout to the New England Patriots, Mendoza was brought in to run the no-huddle offense for a series... 6/8 for 48 yards plus 3 rush yards in a single drive. Spread it around and showed mobility... Every pass delivered had some zip on it and none of the wideouts dropped a pass he threw.
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Mendoza's garbage-time debut (6/8, 48 pass yards, 3 rush yards) showed accuracy, mobility, and poise under pressure.

The 2026 #1 overall pick QB made his first live regular-season appearance in garbage time against New England, completing 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards plus 3 rushing yards on a single drive. Mendoza showed accurate progressions, correct reads, good zip on all throws, escapability, and willingness to run; he spread completions across four different receivers with no drops. Even when the Patriots increased defensive pressure in plus territory, he proved capable. The source frames this as a small sample size but cause for excitement, invoking Peyton Manning's adage about learning good football at the end of bad games.

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