Las Vegas Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza will need all hands on deck from his offensive playmakers if the Silver and Black want to secure a win and help their rookie signal caller, given that they’ll be facing the Seattle Seahawks‘ defense.
The Raiders can’t ask Mendoza to make 30-plus throws against the Seahawks defense, led by head coach Mike Macdonald. As a result, Las Vegas has to get their ground game going, which has struggled all season.
Nonetheless, if there’s a game for this rushing attack to break out of its funk, it has to be this one to help take the pressure off of Mendoza. Former NFL QB Russell Wilson believes that the run game will be key against the Seattle defense.
“The big thing that I gotta think about is, what does the running game do? They gotta give him a break,” Wilson said in a Nov. 15 video from NFL on CBS. “They can’t have him dropping back against this defense, trying to carve up the Seattle Seahawks defense, because that ain’t gonna happen. Not many guys can do that. So, to me, it’s gonna be really important that they run the football.
“This is where we gotta see a guy like [Ashton] Jeanty. This is where we gotta see their other young running back make plays, and to really do that well, it allows the play action, allows those moments to come off that quick play action and drive the football on a quick in-route where it’s a 10-yard in-breaker, and get the ball in and out of his hands because he doesn’t want to be holding the ball long.”
Russell Wilson Has Advice for Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza
Wilson also advised Mendoza to stick to the fundamentals and not let the moment overwhelm him or what the Seahawks defense is throwing at him to lose track of the basics.
“All he has to do is talk about the fundamentals in his head and go through his checklist. Every time you break that huddle, you’re going out to the line of scrimmage. The young rookie, even as a veteran player, is thinking, ‘OK, what’s my checklist for this play?’ Just play one play at a time, and Klint Kubiak does a tremendous job of that.
“He got to watch Kirk Cousins do that in a great, great way for the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, here’s the thing, though. We can’t expect him to go in there and throw for 350 yards. We’re talking about him winning Rookie of the Year. This guy hasn’t even played yet. That’s crazy. To me, what’s interesting, though, is that there’s a lot of belief in him going into this building.”
How Seahawks Are Approaching Facing Fernando Mendoza
Meanwhile, Seahawks LB Patrick O’Connell spoke about how the team is approaching facing a QB that has little to no tape at the NFL level.
“You kind of just got to go off who they are right now in their last, however many games,” O’Connell said in a Nov. 14 video from Seattle Sports. “We have seen stuff from him in preseason and a couple of those regular season games that he’s been in. That’s more kind of just looking at his mechanics and the stuff that he does when he’s back there, when he’s under center, his cadence and stuff like that.
“We’re going to keep studying their offense and what they do. They’re not going to just go out there and completely change. They’re going to probably stick to who they are, but they’re going to put him at the head of it.”
Raiders Given Key Advice to Help Fernando Mendoza Against Seahawks