Cardinals Grind Down Raiders 27-14 in Preseason Opener
The Las Vegas Raiders #15 Fernando Mendoza (QB) is looking over the Arizona Cardinals secondary looking for one of his receivers to break open at Allegiant Stadium. This photo is by Michael Clemens/Las Vegas Raiders August 13, 2026.
LAS VEGAS - Kirk Cousins wasted no time on Thursday Night. On the game's opening drive, he found tight end Michael Mayer on a 13-yard strike with 9:53 left in the first quarter, and Matt Gay's extra point had Las Vegas up 7-0 before the building had settled in.
Jacoby Brissett hit Marvin Harrison Jr. from 7 yards to tie the game 7-7 to start the game.
The second quarter belonged to Gardner Minshew, who threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Simi Fehoko, putting Arizona ahead 14-7.
Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, took the field and answered with a six-yard touchdown throw to Jack Bech — a quick read to the middle of the field that tied the game 14-14 and gave Allegiant its loudest stretch of the evening. He finished the game with 97 yards passing and one touchdown.
Minshew took the air back out of it 20 seconds before halftime, finding Jonathon Brooks from six yards out to make it 21-14 at halftime.
The third quarter was all Arizona kicker Chad Ryland, who drilled a 56-yard field goal and tacked on a 40-yard field goal with 4:33 on the clock to push the lead to 27-14. He finished the night 2-of-3.
Bright spots
· Mike Washington Jr. ripped off a 53-yard tackle-breaking run, the longest play by either team all night, and a big reason the Raiders averaged 5.4 yards a carry.
· Zero turnovers, zero fumbles. Clean ball security across four quarterbacks.
· The return unit was a legitimate weapon — five kick returns for 134 yards, 26.8 average, with a long of 33.
· The punting was outstanding: three punts, a 61.0 gross average, 50.3 net, long of 65.
· The defense had two sacks and forced two three-and-outs.
Takeaway
It's August, the score doesn't count, and the Cardinals played starters against a Raiders team that didn't. But the shape of the loss — long Arizona drives, a stalled second half, and a penalty count that doubled the opponent's — is the kind of thing that shows up again in September if it isn't fixed.
The headline is still Mendoza, and it should be. He came in, ran a scoring drive, and put the ball where it needed to go. That's the whole assignment for a preseason opener.
What's next
The Raiders travel to Houston next Thursday, Aug. 20. They close the preseason at home against San Francisco on Aug. 27 before opening the regular season Sept. 13 against Miami at Allegiant Stadium.