It may need solely been a preseason sport, however Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza had an opportunity to begin his first NFL sport on Thursday night time towards the Houston Texans.
It didn’t take lengthy for the No. 1 total choose to have an actual welcome-to-the-NFL second.
Fernando Mendoza throws pick-six on opening drive towards Texans
After finishing his second move of the sport for 22 yards to Jalen Nailor, Mendoza’s subsequent move was picked off by Texans rookie linebacker Wade Woodaz and returned 80 yards for a landing.
Mendoza tried to chase Woodaz down, however he was unable to catch him and make the deal with.
Though he was the No. 1 total choose and is coming off one of many best single seasons in latest school soccer historical past, Mendoza remains to be a rookie, and there are going to be loads of rising pains for him this season when he ultimately sees the sector. Pretty much as good because the Large Ten is, the expertise hole between that and the NFL is gigantic. And that’s nonetheless true in a preseason sport the place a lot of the Texans defensive starters should not on the sector.
All of that may be a massive purpose why the Raiders have veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins on the roster and are anticipated to begin him in Week 1 of the common season.
The Raiders want Mendoza to be nice for the following 10-15 years, not simply this season. His improvement is a very powerful factor, and typically that comes from sitting and watching. And from making errors.
Mendoza performed a major quantity of the Raiders’ preseason opener towards the Arizona Cardinals every week in the past, finishing 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards, one landing and no interceptions.
