Las Vegas rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza saw what it was like to face a strong NFL pass rush, even against a San Francisco defense comprised of reserves, and he was sacked twice and threw an interception in the 49ers' 18-12 preseason victory over the Raiders on Thursday night.
"It's the NFL, there are monsters on the other side of the ball and you need to get the ball out quick," Mendoza said. "It teaches you, you need to play on time, and there's less margin for error. So I think it's a great experience having that heat and duress because diamonds are built under pressure."
Eddy Piñeiro made all six field goal attempts, including 51- and 54-yarders in the final 1:51 for the 49ers (2-1). Las Vegas' Matt Gay, who played briefly for San Francisco last season, made 4 of 5 field goals, his miss coming from 54 yards in the third quarter.
Mendoza completed 7 of 14 passes for 57 yards, making him 25 of 40 for 240 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and four sacks for the three preseason games. He led five drives against the 49ers, one ending in a field goal and another in the missed attempt.
Keion White #56 of the San Francisco 49ers sacks Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders during the second quarter of a preseason game at Allegiant Stadium on August 27, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ian Maule/Getty ImagesIt wasn't quite the exclamation point the top overall draft pick wanted to put on the preseason, and now he will have to search for practice repetitions with Kirk Cousins expected to be the starter when the season begins. Cousins took the vast majority of snaps in training camp for the Raiders (1-2), who now go full time into game planning.
"(Mendoza) needs another three preseason games, and all those rookies do," Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said. "Now that the season is starting, the practice reps get smaller and that's just life. But us as coaches, we've got to get them ready to play and keep developing."
Both coaches took notably different approaches to this preseason finale, with Kubiak playing almost his entire starting offense and defense for two series and the Niners' Kyle Shanahan going with backups the entire game.
Now both coaches have serious decisions to make before the rosters are cut to 53 on Sunday.
"I'm looking forward to figuring out exactly our final team here over these next three days," Shanahan said. "We got a lot of tough decisions; they're not easy ones. I want to see how the practice squad pans out and really what our opening day roster is going to be. I just like when the season starts. Preseason gets a little bit old, and I like when it gets real and it's going to get real, real fast."
Cousins directed two drives, both ending in field goals. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 51 yards.
Mike Washington Jr., who could open the season as the starting running back with Ashton Jeanty out with an undisclosed injury. rushed for 49 yards on eight carries. Washington rushed for 168 yards in the preseason, averaging 7.3 per carry.
49ers backup quarterback Mac Jones and what was mostly the second-team offense was held to one first down and 20 yards on two drives against the Raiders' starting defense, minus pass rusher Maxx Crosby who didn't play in any preseason games. Jones finished 1 of 5 for 7 yards.
The Raiders went with Mendoza for the third period and gave him the starting offense, except for rookie Trey Zuhn III taking over for Tyler Linderbaum at center. Mendoza threw high to Jalen Nailor on his second play, and the ball popped into the air into the hands of San Francisco linebacker Tatum Bethune for an interception.
49ers: CB Ephesians Prysock (shoulder) and TE Brayden Willis (concussion) were injured. LB Jalen Graham was evaluated for a concussion and cleared.
Raiders: DE Keyron Crawford (ankle) was hurt late in the third quarter.
Up next
49ers: Open Sept. 10 against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
Raiders: Open Sept. 13 against Miami at home.
Hence then, the article about rough night for rookie fernando mendoza as raiders fall to 49ers in preseason finale was published today ( ) and is available on CBS sacramento ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Rough night for rookie Fernando Mendoza as Raiders fall to 49ers in preseason finale )
Also on site :
- 1980 Hit, Named Greatest Soft Rock Song of All Time by VH1, Hit No. 1 on the Charts 46 Years Ago Today
- Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow warns UK ‘playing with fire’ over plans to help Kyiv produce missiles
- Big Brother's 1,000th (!) Episode Brings A Pivotal Eviction, Major Nostalgia, And A Never-Before-Done Twist