No. 1 Pick Fernando Mendoza Debuts Late in Raiders' 45-17 Loss to Patriots

Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza made his NFL debut Sunday, completing 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards in a loss to New England.

The Las Vegas Raiders fell 45-17 to the New England Patriots on Sunday at a rainy Gillette Stadium. Trailing by 28 points with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak inserted No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza for his NFL regular-season debut. The rookie quarterback completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards, including a 16-yard completion to Tre Tucker and a 9-yard throw to Ian Thomas. Mendoza led the offense into the red zone, but the drive ended on fourth down when his scramble fell short of the first-down marker.

New England quarterback Drake Maye dominated the contest, recording 374 passing yards and five total touchdowns. The Raiders' defense struggled against the former MVP runner-up, while the Las Vegas offense was limited to 38 rushing yards. Veteran starter Kirk Cousins completed 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown, finishing with a 106.7 passer rating despite being sacked four times and pressured on 39% of his dropbacks.

Following the team's second consecutive defeat, Kubiak stated that the plan at quarterback remains unchanged despite Mendoza's late-game appearance. The Heisman Trophy winner expressed that he should have stayed in the pocket to target Deven Thompkins on his final fourth-down play rather than attempting to run to the edge. The Raiders' 17-point performance marked their worst statistical outing of the season.