Las Vegas will start rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza on Sunday against Seattle, which allows just 244.2 yards per game.
The Story
The Las Vegas Raiders made a quick quarterback change on Tuesday, shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota and installing rookie Fernando Mendoza as their starter.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said the timing of the debut is difficult, noting that Seattle is allowing a league-low 244.2 yards per game. “Every week in the NFL is tough, and this is the best defense in the NFL,” Kubiak said. “(Mendoza's) got to go do his job and not worry about a whole lot else.”
Kubiak has direct familiarity with Seattle’s unit, having gone against it in practice last season while he was the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. He spent one season with Seattle, where his offence, led by quarterback Sam Darnold and running back Kenneth Walker III, paired with coach Mike Macdonald’s “Dark Side” defence to win the organization’s second Super Bowl.
Seattle will enter the game at 5-4, while Las Vegas is 4-5. Sunday’s matchup is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. EST on CBS, with the Seahawks listed as 6 1/2-point favourites.
Mendoza’s exposure at quarterback in the NFL has been limited. He has made one appearance, completing 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards in a late stretch of a blowout loss to New England.
The spotlight on Mendoza began earlier, after he won the Heisman Trophy last season and led Indiana to a national championship. In recent weeks, the Raiders have been bringing him along more slowly while Cousins ran the offence, and the team’s locker-room word was that Mendoza made the most of that time.
Mendoza said he has embraced that learning process. “Sometimes coach Sully (QBs coach Mike Sullivan) will reference back to ‘Spring Fernando,’” Mendoza said. “I don't want to talk about myself in the third person, but it just shows how much improvement there’s been. I’m a lot more confident as a quarterback, and I feel more developed.”
Seattle’s plan against the rookie will include pressure from defensive back S Nick Emmanwori, who has blitzed on 54 plays—most among defensive backs—according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Emmanwori blitzed 65 times all of last season, and his 17 quarterback pressures match his total from last year.
Several other matchup and team notes are in play for Sunday: Seattle has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 38 consecutive games, Las Vegas has topped 100 rushing yards just twice this season and has not done so since Week 3 at New Orleans. Drew Lock is the quarterback for Seattle, having thrown no interceptions across 75-plus passes, with five touchdown passes in three games and a 116.0 quarterback rating. Lock is filling in for Sam Darnold, who is out for a second consecutive week with a quadriceps injury.
This will also mark the Seahawks’ first regular-season game in Las Vegas since the Raiders moved to the city in 2020. In the most recent head-to-head meeting, the Raiders won 40-34 in overtime on Nov. 27, 2022, in Seattle, and the series record favours Las Vegas 29-25.
← More stories