NFL pre-season roundup: Mendoza makes Raiders debut

LAS VEGAS — No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza threw a touchdown pass in his preseason debut for the Las Vegas Raiders in a 27-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night.

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.

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.

CINCINNATI — Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass in relief of Joe Burrow, Evan McPherson kicked three field goals and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Detroit Lions 16-14 Thursday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

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.