Raiders Plan: Mendoza First Half, O’Connell Later
Las Vegas told you the split before kickoff: Mendoza for the first half, O’Connell after. The No. 1 pick got the start. The half ended 8-of-15, 86 yards, one pick-six. That is the file, not a Week 1 coronation.
The plan was public before the ball was snapped. Adam Schefter: Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, would play roughly the first half at Houston, then Aidan O’Connell. FOX Sports wrote the same split. That is a coaching decision, not a depth-chart leak. Kirk Cousins had started the preseason opener against Arizona; Mendoza had come in and gone 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown. Thursday was the first professional start.
The half printed 8-of-15, 86 yards, one interception. Sports Illustrated and CBS’s live blog both had that line. The interception was a pick-six — live NFL coverage had Wade Woodaz taking it back. CBS also had Houston up 17–0 after a 51-yard Fairbairn field goal during Mendoza’s look. Drops and a bad snap showed up in the same half; those are real, and they are still not a completed pass. We are not going to turn 86 yards into a Week 1 job.
What DFS should actually do with this
Preseason passing lines are not redraft rankings. Mendoza got the start and the first half — that is more than Cousins got a week ago, and it is less than a sealed job. O’Connell playing the second half is the team telling you the room is still plural. Mike Garafolo’s “uphill battle” to start Week 1 is the only Week 1 sentence we will use, because it is attributed and it is not a promise either way.
If you are in a best-ball or dynasty seat, the start matters more than the pick-six. If you are in a one-week DFS seat, sit this game down. Houston’s defense was the look they wanted. They got it. They also got a zero on the scoreboard while he was in there.
The takeaway
The Raiders planned Mendoza first half, O’Connell later, and then they ran that plan. 8-of-15, 86, a pick-six. File the snaps. Do not file a starter.