Fernando Mendoza completed 6-of-8 passes for 48 yards in relief of Kirk Cousins in Las Vegas’ Week 5 loss to the Patriots.

12 October 2026

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Mendoza is going to take the reins this week; we expect Cousins to continue starting even if Raiders coach Klint Kubiak didn’t affirmatively get ahead of the situation in Sunday’s post-game. But Mendoza looked reasonable and this will obviously be something that will bubble up eventually. No. 1 overall picks don’t typically stay on benches too long.