Kubiak Blames Raiders WR for Fernando Mendoza's INT, Watch Video of Viral Play vs. 49ers

Fernando Mendoza was inconsistent during Thursday's preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak didn't place the blame on the rookie quarterback for his interception.

"I thought that was an excellent throw," Kubiak said, per Ted Nguyen of The Athletic. "He ripped it, just like we asked him to, on time. Yeah, it was a little bit high. Jalen's gotta make a play."

While the pass deflected off Jalen Nailor's hands, it was also high and appeared overthrown. It eventually fell in the waiting hands of 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune, who intercepted it.

Mendoza was 7-of-14 for 57 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception to cap off a preseason that had its ups and downs.

He impressed against the Arizona Cardinals while going 10-of-16 for 97 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions but struggled against the Houston Texans at 8-of-15 for 86 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. The interception against the Texans was returned for a touchdown by Wade Woodaz.

Expectations are high for Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NFL draft who is coming off a Heisman Trophy and national championship during his final collegiate season at Indiana.

However, he will reportedly have time to ease into the NFL before he is under the spotlight as the presumed franchise quarterback in Las Vegas. Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported the Raiders are expected to name Kirk Cousins the starter for their Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins.

That will give Cousins some time to learn under the veteran signal-caller and ideally clean up some of the mistakes he made during the preseason.

Even if his head coach doesn't believe one of those mistakes was his fault.