October 25, 2026 - 8:29 pm

His helmet on with the beatdown on for the Las Vegas Raiders by the Los Angeles Rams, Fernando Mendoza on the sideline Sunday greeted his offensive teammates one by one. The Raiders trailed by 22 points with 2:26 to play in the third quarter — only for Mendoza to stay on the sideline.

Warmup passes would have to do.

Though Las Vegas was bludgeoned by Los Angeles and down three touchdowns into the fourth quarter, coach Klint Kubiak said he didn’t consider playing the prized rookie quarterback. His rationale for keeping Mendoza, the top draft pick this year, stapled to the sideline was that the Raiders “made it a competitive game.”

Indeed, the two fourth-quarter touchdowns thrown by quarterback Kirk Cousins put Las Vegas at a 10-point disadvantage after two failed two-point attempts with 13:12 to play on its way to a 35-21 loss.…