Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s first preseason ended in a 27-14 loss against the Arizona Cardinals – not quite the debut he was expecting. Mendoza was self-critical in the face of what can only be called rookie mistakes, saying he let his teammates down in the post-game presser. But when that clip landed on Fox Sports’ First Things First, former NFL coach Eric Mangini wasn’t buying the sentiment.

“We all get it, you’re a good guy,” Mangini said on the show. “It’s just preseason; you didn’t let anybody down. You let me down when you ran with the ball and got form tackled; you let me down there. You let me down another time where you got hit. But the other part, no. It’s not the national championship, it’s not the Super Bowl.”

Fernando Mendoza threw 10-of-16 for 97 yards in his NFL debut, and scored a touchdown for the Raiders. While the Raiders didn’t win the ballgame, Mendoza spent the game proving he can play in the NFL, operate under center, and manage a team as well as any other quarterback. In the face of what many analysts have called a brilliant outing, Mendoza’s comment didn’t sit well with Mangini.

“I don’t think that flies in the locker room for a while,” Mangini said. “It’s like the person who says ‘I love you’ all the time, it just doesn’t mean anything after a while. You’re like, ‘Oh my God, I let you down, I let you down,’ it’s gotta mean something.”

Mangini then went back to the fact that this is just a preseason outing that has no impact on the Raiders’ regular-season hopes. When the rest of the First Things First crew touted Mendoza for not throwing anyone under the bus, Mangini noted that he understood Mendoza’s drive, but still called him out for his postgame comment.

“Totally get it,” Mangini said. “Your first drive, your first game in preseason football. You don’t need to have an emotional moment at the podium.”

Now, in Mendoza’s defense, he’s coming off a 16-0 season with the Indiana Hoosiers that won him a Natty and a Heisman. With that record being his last football season, it’s no wonder the 22-year-old expects to win. But coming to the NFL was always going to hit him with a learning curve. Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins orchestrated an almost-perfect drive before paving the way for the rookie QB. Mendoza had to follow that with the fanbase’s expectations riding on his throwing arm.

Mendoza admitted he was anxious when he first took the field, leading him to throw a couple of incompletions, which, in turn, forced the Raiders to punt the ball. But when Mendoza got the ball back on the next drive, he transformed that into his first NFL touchdown, starting with a 19-yard completion to his fellow rookie – wide receiver Malik Benson.

“I just love his operation,” Benson said when asked about Mendoza postgame. “The clear communication, the huddle. He’s very confident. But obviously, there’s a lot of work that all of us as a team [have] to do.”

Even head coach Klint Kubiak called Fernando Mendoza “an ascending player,” while noting the team has to “keep getting better.” In a Friday video conference, Coach Kubiak also noted he’s considering splitting first-team reps between all three of his quarterbacks – Cousins, Mendoza, and Aidan O’Connell. As for Mendoza taking the blame for the loss on himself, his head coach was all for it.

“The best quarterbacks I’ve been around are the ones who are hard on themselves,” Kubiak said. “They put the finger on them before they put it on their teammates. I think he played good football last night and is going to continue to get better.

“I think the thing that stood out for me again is we put a lot on his plate and all the quarterbacks’ plates getting read for this preseason game, and he went out and executed the way that he does in practice.”

Nobody was disappointed with what Fernando Mendoza did in his debut except the man himself. Even if Eric Mangini didn’t like Mendoza getting “emotional” over a preseason loss, that level of accountability will surely endear him to the fanbase and perhaps result in some more ‘FERNANDO’ billboards around Las Vegas.