LAS VEGAS — No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza threw a touchdown pass in his preseason debut for Las Vegas in a loss to Arizona.
The Heisman Trophy winner led one touchdown drive for the Raiders (1-0) in four series — not including a kneel-down at the end of the first half — and finished 10 of 16 for 97 yards and a 6-yard TD pass to Jack Bech.
Mendoza became the first top overall draft selection to throw a touchdown pass in his first preseason game since 2018 when Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield had two against the New York Giants.
Mendoza barely missed a second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, throwing beyond the reach of Deven Thompkins. But Mendoza also was sharp at times, threading a 19-yard pass in the second quarter between three defenders to fellow rookie Malik Benson.
The expected rematch of college football national championship quarterbacks didn’t happen because the Cardinals (1-1) decided not to play Carson Beck, who has sore ribs. Mendoza led Indiana to a 27-21 victory over Beck and Miami in the title game in January.
Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby also did not play, which wasn’t completely unexpected after coach Klint Kubiak said Tuesday that his playing status was to be determined. Crosby, who underwent knee surgery in January, has participated in training camp.
Teammate Jermod McCoy, who hasn’t played in nearly two years because of a torn ACL, played with the second-team defence at cornerback. He was the primary defender on two Cardinals touchdowns.
Each team’s starting quarterback played one series, both resulting in touchdowns.
STEELERS 28, PACKERS 9
PITTSBURGH — Rookie Drew Allar threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another during an impressive debut as the Pittsburgh Steelers surged past the Green Bay Packers 28-9 in the preseason opener on Thursday night.
Allar, a third-round pick from Penn State, was 10 of 13 for 154 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Wetjen and a 4-yard flip to Riley Nowkowski. Allar, who entered the game to calls of “Drewwww!” also sprinted into the end zone for a 3-yard score as the Steelers made coach Mike McCarthy’s debut leading his hometown team a successful one.
The 22-year-old Allar wasn’t the only Pittsburgh quarterback who seemed to have a handle on McCarthy’s offence. Will Howard, a sixth-round pick last year, guided the Steelers to a touchdown while deftly operating the 2-minute offence. Howard was 7 of 9 for 86 yards, including a handful to former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan, who caught four passes for 61 yards.
Green Bay starter Jordan Love was 3 of 5 passing during one series of work while leading the Packers on an opening drive that ended with the first of rookie Trey Smack’s three field goals. Love wasn’t hit during his cameo, a welcome development after he injured his left (non-throwing) hand against the New York Jets during the preseason last year.
Pittsburgh star Aaron Rodgers, who said this week he doesn’t think he needs to play during his 22nd and final training camp, caught up with Love and other Green Bay players and staff and then watched from the sideline with a headset on as his last NFL team faced his first.
The 42-year-old’s roster spot is secure. What happens behind him is anyone’s guess as Howard, Allar and veteran Mason Rudolph compete for a spot on the depth chart that will likely last until rosters are trimmed to 53 on Aug. 30.
Rudolph started and completed 10 of 11 passes for 93 yards and had a lengthy drive of his own end with Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth tackled at the Green Bay 1 on fourth down.
BENGALS 16, LIONS 14
CINCINNATI — Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass in relief of Joe Burrow, Evan McPherson kicked three field goals and Cincinnati beat Detroit.
Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor got his starters at least three plays. Burrow and the first-string offensive line played two series, with the franchise quarterback going 5 of 6 for 39 yards.
Detroit’s Dan Campbell didn’t play most of his starters, including quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Offensive tackle Blake Miller, taken with the 17th overall pick in the NFL draft, was in for 33 snaps, all in the first half.
Luke Altmyer played most of the game and went 13 of 22 for 130 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The undrafted rookie directed a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, capped by his 24-yard pass to Tarik Black with 1:35 remaining. Altmyer’s 2-point conversion on a keeper got the Lions within 16-14.
Cincinnati recovered the onside kick but went three-and-out and punted. Russ Yeast then picked off Altmyer at the Lions 35.
Detroit got a pair of first-half field goals from Jake Bates on a sloppy night for the offence. The Lions committed two turnovers and also turned it over on downs at the Cincinnati 29 late in the first quarter.
The Lions drove to the Bengals 33 on the first series before Jordan Battle picked off Altmyer at the 25 after the pass went off the hands of wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa.
The Bengals turned a Lions turnover into a touchdown in the second quarter. A bad handoff between Altmyer and Jacob Saylors was recovered by defensive end Cashius Howell, Cincinnati’s second-round pick, at the Lions 7.
Two plays later, Flacco connected with rookie tight end Jack Endries on a 4-yard screen pass to make it 10-0. Flacco finished 5 of 8 for 51 yards.
COLTS 13, PATRIOTS 13
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Anthony Richardson ran for a touchdown but had two turnovers in his first action since early last season as Indianapolis played to a tie with New England.
New England backup quarterback Tommy DeVito threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams. Kindle Vildor and John Saunders Jr. each had interceptions for the Patriots, who rested Drake Maye and the majority of their starters.
Richardson scored on a 1-yard sneak for Indianapolis. He finished 11 of 14 for 145 yards but lost a fumble and had a pass tipped by receiver Coleman Owen and intercepted by Vildor.
With quarterback Daniel Jones among the host of Colts starters who got the night off, Richardson — who appeared in only two games last season — got the start.
Indy’s No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 draft is hoping to solidify the backup job behind Jones. In 2024, Richardson had the lowest completion rate of any starter in the NFL.
The Colts had four turnovers and trailed most of the night before tying the game with 1:16 left on a 61-yard field goal by Spencer Shrader.
CHARGERS 27, TEXANS 7
HOUSTON — Amar Johnson ran for two touchdowns and had a 55-yard reception to lead Los Angeles to a win over Houston.
Most of the starters for both teams, including the quarterbacks — Houston’s C.J. Stroud and Los Angeles’ Justin Herbert — sat out.
Johnson scored on a 7-yard run that put the Chargers on top 10-7 in the second quarter on a drive led by backup quarterback Trey Lance. Johnson, an undrafted free agent entering his second season, scored again on a 1-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter and ran in the 2-point conversion that pushed the lead to 21-7.
He put the team in scoring position with his 55-yard reception from D.J. Uiagalelei on the previous play.
Davis Mills started for the Texans and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jared Wayne on the first series, during which he played with the starting offensive line before being replaced by Graham Mertz.
But he was forced back into action to start the second half after Mertz was injured with 2 seconds left in the second quarter. There was no immediate word on the nature of his injury.
Mills finished the game and was 9 of 15 for 82 yards.
Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, was 12 of 20 for 164 yards with an interception.
TITANS 19, 49ERS 13
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Cam Ward struggled in three drives for Tennessee against San Francisco’s backup defence and the Titans went on to beat the 49ers.
Tony Pollard ran for a touchdown and Joey Slye kicked four field goals for the Titans, with three coming from at least 50 yards out.
First-year Tennessee coach Robert Saleh played most of his starters in his debut game, while 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan opted to hold out his top-line players after most of them got work during a joint practice on Tuesday.
The Titans drove 95 yards on their opening possession with Ward completing two passes and Tennessee doing most of the work on the ground by controlling the line of scrimmage. Pollard capped it with a 5-yard TD run.
Ward, the No. 1 overall pick last season, then went 3 for 8 for 23 yards on the next two possessions as the Titans netted just 15 yards total on those drives. He was unable to connect with No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate, who was targeted three times. All fell incomplete, including a pass near the goal line that was broken up by San Francisco rookie Ephesians Prysock.
Kurtis Rourke, a seventh-round pick in Ward’s draft in 2025, looked much sharper in his professional debut after missing all of last season recovering from knee surgery. He went 12 for 14 for 101 yards with three rushes for 14 yards on three drives. His final possession ended in a 1-yard TD run by Patrick Taylor Jr., and he left the game after that with a rib injury.
Rourke had a good rhythm with Niners rookie receiver De’Zhaun Stribling. The first pick of the second round caught seven passes for 63 yards on his three drives, including two impressive catches on the TD drive. He caught a 32-yard deep pass on the sideline and then had an 11-yard catch with a broken tackle to convert a third-and-6.
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