Fernando Mendoza will have a challenging task in his first regular-season start as the Las Vegas Raiders‘ QB. In Week 10, the Silver and Black will face the Seattle Seahawks, and the defense led by head coach Mike Macdonald at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 15.
It will be a baptism by fire against the reigning Super Bowl champions, and while Mendoza will look to rise to the occasion to help get the 4-5 Raiders back to .500, FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd doesn’t see that happening.
Moreover, Cowherd predicts Mendoza will face a difficult challenge in his first career start, going up against the reigning Super Bowl champions and one of the NFL’s toughest defenses. As a result, it might not pretty out on the field for the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.
“Now let’s have perspective because [Mendoza] should be getting some grace,” Cowherd said on the Nov. 13 edition of “The Herd.” “This could be a mulligan. All right, I saw what Seattle did to Bo Nix the first time he faced them. No touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating, I think, in the 60s. And Bo’s got Sean Payton.
“This is going to be a little bit rough. No No. 1 quarterback pick has ever had their first start against the reigning Super Bowl champions and the Seahawks are 5-4. They’re in a bad mood.”
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Nonetheless, Cowherd believes Mendoza will face a difficult challenge against Seattle’s defense, which has historically given rookie quarterbacks trouble.
“The Seahawks basically say you have to score on a 12-play drive, so you can’t get impatient or antsy,” Cowherd added. “They’re going to give you nothing over the top, and their safeties and corners blitz better than everybody else’s safeties and corners. So it’s a nightmare.
“Not to mention, rookie quarterbacks who face Mike Macdonald, it’s a graveyard. 0-4, 54 passer rating. So this is not going to be an easy one. Don’t take too much. The kid needs strokes on this golf course.”
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While Cowherd isn’t holding out hope that Mendoza will perform well against the Seahawks’ defense, that’s not how the Raiders are feeling.
Ahead of the first regular-season start for Mendoza, Prime Video’s NFL insider James Palmer shared that although the rookie will be facing the Seahawks’ and Denver Broncos‘ defenses, the Raiders believe he’s up for the challenge.
“Talking to people there over the last couple of weeks of practice, they all believe Fernando Mendoza is more than ready to step into the starting role,” Palmer said during a Nov. 12 appearance on Prime Video. “Kirk Cousins even knew that and was almost excited, I’m told, about the switch to help Mendoza.
“Now, he’s starting his career against the Seahawks and the Broncos, but they believe he’s mentally tough enough to handle that. Look for the scheme to be simplified a little, with more bootlegs and rollouts to take advantage of his athleticism. We know that’s a big part of Klint Kubiak’s system.”
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