Mendoza starts for Raiders against NFL's top defense as Seahawks sit Darnold

The Fernando Mendoza era begins at 1:05 p.m. PT at Allegiant Stadium, and the schedule did the rookie no favors. The No. 1 overall pick makes his first NFL start against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, who arrive at 5-4 with the league's stingiest defense. Las Vegas is 4-5 and no longer has Kirk Cousins, traded to Minnesota on Tuesday for a 2027 third-round pick.

The numbers are unkind. Seattle gives up 244 yards a game, only 151 of them through the air, and 18 points a game, fourth best in the league, as LVSportsBiz laid out. The Raiders are surrendering 29.8 points a game and have allowed 30 or more in six straight. Mendoza is not the line item that needs fixing.

He sounds unbothered by the assignment. "I believe starting an NFL game is a new step, but a whirlwind? No," he said after being named the starter, in comments to the team site. Klint Kubiak says he is putting no limits on the playbook. Mendoza's only regular-season work came late against New England on Oct. 11, when he went 6 of 8 for 48 yards.

Seattle has its own quarterback problem. Sam Darnold is still out with quad and rib injuries, so Drew Lock makes another start, a call coach Mike Macdonald made early in the week and ESPN's Brady Henderson reported. Lock carried no injury designation Friday despite elbow and oblique issues. With several starters ruled out, Seattle spent Saturday elevating practice squad help, cornerback Trevon Diggs among it.

The Raiders are, improbably, the healthier team. Receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. and defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV were the only questionable designations on Friday's injury report. Kolton Miller, Nakobe Dean and Dareke Young are this week's captains.

Opinion, clearly labelled: the 6.5-point home underdog price looks fair, and the rookie is not what decides this. A defense leaking 30 a game against a backup quarterback is.

Inactives land 90 minutes before kickoff, with Thornton the name to check. After that, watch Mendoza's legs. Cousins almost never ran, and mobility is the one thing this offense has not had all season.