(AP) – The change came quickly Tuesday, but it was not unexpected when the Las Vegas Raiders shipped quarterback Kirk Cousins to Minnesota and installed rookie Fernando Mendoza as their starter.
As the top draft pick, Mendoza taking over has been anticipated for months by Raiders fans and was a topic of discussion throughout the NFL.
And what a time to make his debut, going against a Seattle Seahawks defense on Sunday that allows a league-low 244.2 yards per game and puts even the league’s top quarterbacks in uncomfortable situations.
“Every week in the NFL is tough, and this is the best defense in the NFL,” Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said. “(Mendoza’s) got to go do his job and not worry about a whole lot else.”
Kubiak knows all about the Seahawks’ defense, going against it in practice last season as Seattle’s offensive coordinator.
He spent just the one season with Seattle, but his offense led by quarterback Sam Darnold and running back Kenneth Walker III paired with coach Mike Macdonald’s Dark Side defense led to the organization’s second Super Bowl championship.
That was a team more ready to win than Las Vegas, which is showing signs of progress, having already surpassed its three wins from last season. The Raiders average 26.4 points per game, eighth in the NFL, after reaching that number just once in 2025.
“They’re building it around the people that they have and they’re doing it at a high level,” Macdonald said. “I respect how they operate, obviously, and they have great people and good players. They’re moving the ball and putting up a lot of points.”
Macdonald and his staff don’t have much video on Mendoza, who has made just one appearance. Mendoza completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards late in a blowout loss to New England.
There is a lot of pressure on Mendoza, who has been in the spotlight since winning the Heisman Trophy last season and leading Indiana to the national championship.
He has acknowledged a big learning curve, and the Raiders brought Mendoza along slowly while Cousins ran the offense. Word from the Raiders’ locker room was Mendoza made the most of that time and put together some outstanding practices in recent weeks.
“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.”
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