Fernando Mendoza made his NFL debut under unceremonious circumstances on Sunday.
The top pick in this year’s NFL draft took over at quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth quarter of a 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots. The Raiders trailed by the final score with 6:06 remaining when Mendoza replaced veteran Kirk Cousins, who endured his worst game of the season for a Las Vegas squad that has dropped two straight after opening the season with three straight wins.
Mendoza finished 6 of 8 passing for 48 yards and an 89.6 rating. He helped the Raiders pick up two first downs but came up 1 yard short on fourth-and-4 with Las Vegas in the red zone.
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