If Fernando Mendoza felt like he was on top of the world with his standout performance in his preseason debut last week, then the Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback received a slice of humble pie on Thursday.
Mendoza’s outing against the Texans highlighted another busy day of news across the NFL. The rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick played the entire first half of the Raiders’ win over the Texans, but had his fair share of struggles.
Elsewhere, a San Francisco 49ers star received good news on the injury front, while the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints were disciplined for their several fights at Wednesday’s joint practice.
Here’s what you need to know about what happened around the NFL on Thursday.
Expectations were high when news broke that No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza would start Thursday night for the Las Vegas Raiders, but the former Indiana Hoosier quickly ran into trouble against the Houston Texans.
Mendoza threw a pick-six on his third pass of the game. Texans linebacker Wade Woodaz jumped his pass over the middle, returning it 80 yards for a score.
It set the tone for a relatively underwhelming night for Mendoza. He completed 8 of 16 passes for 86 yards, leading Las Vegas to just three points as he played the entirety of the first half.
Aidan O’Connell had better luck against the Texans’ defense. The Raiders’ backup quarterback completed 15 of 24 passes as he led his team to a 22-20 comeback victory, erasing a 20-3 halftime deficit.
There is a real scenario where San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle could return as early as the regular season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Kittle had a visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache that was “encouraging” on Wednesday, as it’s believed he’s ahead of schedule with his recovery from an Achilles tear he suffered in January, ESPN reported.
Kittle hasn’t been a full participant in 49ers practice yet this training camp. However, he expressed optimism that he could return by the start of the regular season when he met with reporters earlier in the week.
Despite missing time due to injuries he suffered prior to his Achilles tear, Kittle was efficient for the 49ers last year. In 11 games, he racked up 57 receptions, 628 yards and seven touchdowns.
Adding Kittle back would be a positive development for San Francisco’s offense and quarterback Brock Purdy. The unit has already lost wide receiver Ricky Pearsall for the entirety of the season, causing them to sign veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel after camp started.
After missing the playoffs for three straight seasons, Joe Burrow is done waiting. The Cincinnati Bengals’ star quarterback made it clear on Thursday that the time for “next year” excuses is over and it’s now or never for a Super Bowl run.
“I’m trying to put it out into the world,” Burrow told reporters. “I’m trying to manifest it. I’m trying to show our guys the urgency that I have and that I want us to have as an organization to go and make it happen.”
Burrow iterated that the urgency starts now for the Bengals.
“Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road, and I’m trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and be great every day and try to make it happen,” Burrow said.
Despite being limited to just eight games in Cincinnati, Burrow produced impressive numbers. He completed 66.8% of his passes for 1,809 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also threw at least three touchdowns in three of those eight appearances for the Bengals last season.
Cowboys, Saints Fined
The NFL fined the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints $500,000 each on Thursday following altercations during their joint practice in Oxnard, California.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters that he plans to appeal the fine. But he also expressed remorse over his team’s actions.
“All of that makes it a real focal point of the league to stay within good sport, and the taking of helmets off, swinging and hitting, and that type of thing is not good for anybody, and it’s certainly not what we want to represent to our fans and as a league or as a team,” Jones said.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke about his team’s conduct following the joint practice.
“Not the way we like to do business,” Schottenheimer said. “Got to be better, but I’ve got to look at the film. We’re certainly not going to take s— from anybody.”
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta missed multiple practices this week with a hip injury, putting his status for Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints in doubt.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell was blunt when asked if LaPorta would be able to go when the regular season starts.
“I don’t know. I feel like we’ll be OK, but I don’t know,” Campbell told reporters.
“It flared up a little bit, it’s a little aggravated. But we feel good long-term about him. We’ll rest him for a little bit here and letting it calm down,” Campbell added.
LaPorta played nine games in 2025 before a disc injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
Injury News & Notes
- The Houston Texans started quarterback C.J. Stroud against the Las Vegas Raiders. He only played one series, completing 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards and leading Houston to a touchdown.
- Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken announced that running back Quinshon Judkins was held out of practice Thursday due to a “nagging injury.”
- The San Francisco 49ers withheld both running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Mike Evans from Thursday night’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Quarterback Brock Purdy played, completing 4 of 6 passes for 29 yards.
- New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters that quarterback Geno Smith will play in Friday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith didn’t play in the Jets’ preseason opener against the Buccaneers
