When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana in the 2026 NFL Draft, they were hoping he could provide an instant punch to their offense.
Consider that job done as Mendoza recorded his first NFL touchdown pass on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza Accurate on First NFL TD Pass
Mendoza hit Jack Bech on a 6-yard touchdown pass that tied the NFL preseason game at 14-14.
NFL analysts were going wild over Mendoza’s scoring play and also his presence in the pocket for Las Vegas.
Former NFL quarterback and current analyst Chase Daniel didn’t hold back on his thoughts about seeing Mendoza. He posted on X, “Fernando Mendoza with an absolute DIME for his first TD on a Lion concept. Windows in the Redzone are much tighter in the NFL…protects his guy too on the lookie”.
Fernando Mendoza with an absolute DIME for his first TD on a Lion concept.
Windows in the Redzone are much tighter in the NFL…protects his guy too on the lookie pic.twitter.com/MGArj366tr
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) August 14, 2026
ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes pointed out how Mendoza looked on that scoring drive. She wrote, “Mendoza did some nice, nice stuff on that drive”.
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CBS Sports analyst JP Acosta was quite emphatic in his view of Mendoza’s initial TD. He wrote, “MENDOZA TD TO BECH I WILL FIGHT GOD AND WIN”.
MENDOZA TD TO BECH I WILL FIGHT GOD AND WIN
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) August 14, 2026
Former NFL quarterback Ben DiNucci, who is an analyst for CBS Sports these days, knows a thing or two about playing in the pocket. DiNucci wrote, “Mendoza is going to be really good man”.
Mendoza is going to be really good man
— Ben DiNucci (@B_DiNucci6) August 14, 2026
Marcus Mosher, who hosts the “Locked on Cowboys” podcast, pointed out how Mendoza aimed that pass to Bech. Mosher posted, “Throws it low to protect the WR. Already looking like a vet.”
Throws it low to protect the WR. Already looking like a vet. https://t.co/2MNpWnPbTu
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) August 14, 2026
It’s no secret that former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady is also a minority owner of the Raiders. Underdog’s account on X made sure to make note of how Brady might have felt watching Mendoza make that throw.
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“Tom Brady watching Fernando Mendoza,” the account posted while sharing an image of Yoda with the text “there is another,” referring to how the Raiders might have found a franchise quarterback in Mendoza.
Tom Brady watching Fernando Mendoza https://t.co/yOx9wr4T9k pic.twitter.com/i8UonoicSr
— Underdog (@Underdog) August 14, 2026
Ian Hartitz of RotoWire and OddsJam.com had an interesting thought after seeing Mendoza play in the first half against the Cardinals. He wrote, “Let’s start Fernando Mendoza in Week 1 and see what happens”.
ESPN’s Evan Kaplan also shared a surprising stat about Mendoza, revealing, “Fernando Mendoza is the first No. 1 overall pick to throw a touchdown in his preseason debut since Baker Mayfield in 2018 (2 pass TDs in win vs Giants).”
Would Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak choose to do this instead of giving Kirk Cousins that Game 1 start? This will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks.
