Following Fernando Mendoza's solid performance in the Raiders' preseason opener, head coach Klint Kubiak said he was going to be taking a look at the reps in practice. The statement seemed to leave open the possibility that Mendoza could see some reps with the reps, but over the first couple practices this week, that didn't happen. Tuesday that changed. The Raiders are in Houston to face the Texans, but beforehand they held a joint practice. And Mendoza finally got some time with the ones. Something Mendoza says he approached "With an opportunistic mindset." "It's such a blessing and an honor to be able to play with the ones," Mendoza told the media after practice. "I think it's great to get the speed of the game, because every group is fast but the ones might be elevated a little bit more. So, to get that speed of the game, be in there to not only execute the play, but also command the huddle, see and read the defense pre-snap, post snap, there's so many different elements that are elevated and accelerated with that group." Kirk Cousins still started out with the first team, but Mendoza came in and got work with them as well, before the teams fully switched over the second teamers. Early on, Mendoza impressed the media on hand with his accuracy, fitting balls into tight windows as well as a pinpoint long completion to star TE Brock Bowers.
Mendoza has made multiple tight window throws today where the defender just missed the pass. https://t.co/J0N3FwcSqW — DJ Bien-Aime | NASM CPT (@Djbienaime) August 18, 2026 "Brock Bowers was Brock Bowers, no explanation needed there," Mendoza said. "But for sure it was reassuring to go out there against one of the top defenses in the league, but at the same time, football is football and you make your read and take what the defense gives you. And you can reap the rewards or reap the negative consequences." Eventually, however, the rookie would show his inexperience and he threw a pick six.
None new for 5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/pqbT825MWD — Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 18, 2026 "I think it's a great learning experience," Mendoza said of the interception. "I went through my progression, I thought the safety was a little deeper than he was and at that point I needed to either put lower to Ashton [Jeanty] so he stays away from the hit and he drops down . . . and sometimes in the red zone you got to throw it away. Or you got to scramble and extend a play. It's not always going to be there. It's a puzzle. I have a piece I could put into five little slots, whether it's a first read, second read, checkdown, throwing it away, or running. And I put the piece in the wrong [slot] and it happens." Joint practices are the perfect time to work out these kinds of kinks and learn these things the easy way when you're going against an opposing team, but there is no game on the line. Sure, the preseason is good for that, but. he may not get another shot against a first team defense in the preseason. "Both of those [plays] were against the Texans ones defense, which shows the spectrum of how i'm a rookie quarterback and how I need to get better from those experiences, but those are two experiences that I learn from, good and bad. And sometimes you might even learn from the bad a little bit more than from the good." Head coach Klint Kubiak wouldn't say whether the first team offense would play in Thursday night's game against the Texans, saying merely "We'll see". And the Texans could very well hold out their starters. But Mendoza is expected to once again see extended time as the team continues to develop him. This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza got 1st team reps in joint practices with Texans