RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesINDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 06: Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza (15) throws a pass during the Big Ten Championship football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Ohio State Buckeyes on December 6, 2025 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It’s time to dive into the postseason for Silver and Black Pride’s Mendoza Mania series , as we’re breaking down Fernando Mendoza’s performance in the Big Ten Championship against Ohio State.
Despite a rather pedestrian stat line— 15/23 (65.2 completion percentage), 222 yards , one touchdown and one interception—the Las Vegas Raiders’ new quarterback was pretty flippin’ impressive on the big stage and played much better than the box score showed. Four of his incompletions were throwaways, and one came via a batted pass, according to Pro Football Focus , and the interception was on a screen where the corner jumped the route to beat the block and make the pick.
On top of that, PFF credited the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft with three “ big-time throws ” and zero “turnover-worthy plays” to earn an elite 91.9 grade for the evening. That was his highest single-game grade of the 2025 season, as Mendoza’s ability to throw deep and on the run really stood out against the Buckeyes.
In full disclosure, a few clips from this game were included in a previous and more general breakdown earlier in the year, which can be found via this link . To avoid repeating information, all of the plays below were not included in the previous article and vice versa. That means Mendoza’s famous deep shot to Charlie Becker that flipped the momentum of the contest isn’t included here, but a detailed breakdown of that play is in the hyperlinked article for those who are interested.
Fernando Mendoza is a good linear athlete, but his lateral movement skills could use some work and can make it difficult to escape the pocket quickly pic.twitter.com/dORgSN1MCm
— Matt Holder (@MHolder95) July 20, 2026
Before diving into the highlights, Mendoza’s lateral movement skills are one area of improvement for him in the NFL, and that shows up in his pocket management or mobility. He’s a good linear athlete who has the speed to pick up yards with his legs when needed, but his change of direction and agility are lacking. The latter can lead to sacks like the play above.
To the quarterback’s credit, nothing is open since Ohio State’s defensive backs are doing an excellent job in man coverage with safety help over the top in the Cover 2 Man/Cover 5 look. Also, both linebackers are on the line of scrimmage and essentially playing two-on-two with the quarterback and running back. One backer covers the running back to take away the checkdown, and the other serves as a spy to take away the scramble.
That gives the three-man rush enough time to get pressure, as the left defensive end beats the right tackle around the edge. Mendoza does a good job of seeing that and stepping up in the pocket, but the spy takes away the interior or linear rushing lane in the B-gap. That forces Mendoza to change directions and move laterally to get out of the pocket, exposing his lack of agility and short-area quickness to pivot and escape the pocket.
Another sack against OSU, this one is more of a lack of feel for pressure. He runs himself into trouble and can't escape pic.twitter.com/Q9IftwgXcu
— Matt Holder (@MHolder95) July 20, 2026
Here, we’ll take a look at another sack where the No. 1 pick’s movement skills are a factor, but his feel for pressure is the bigger issue on this play specifically.
Again, nothing is open with Ohio State doing an excellent job in man coverage, on top of having one safety come off the deep over route from the slot receiver to wall off the dig route from the outside. While there is a coverage bust where the slot receiver ends up being open in the end zone since neither of the safeties stuck with him initially, that happened late in the play and the pressure was already starting to penetrate the pocket.
Mendoza does show a good internal clock, as he starts to try and escape the pocket before the defensive end wins around the edge. However, instead of stepping up and taking advantage of the lane outside of the guard, he runs into pressure. That’s likely because he doesn’t have a feel for where the defensive end is. Now, Mendoza’s lateral movement skills come into play as he’s out of his element and has to be an escape artist in the pocket, leading to the sack on third down.
To be fair, Arvell Reese—the fifth overall pick of April’s draft—is serving as the spy and waiting for the quarterback to scramble. So, the Heisman Trophy winner probably isn’t going to pick up the first down here anyway.
But taking advantage of the open lane could at least give the offense a chance to move the chains by getting all seven yards with his legs on this play, or by cutting the distance in half to set up a potential go-for-it opportunity on fourth down. Either of those two results is better than taking a sack.
On top of the toughness, I love that Fernando Mendoza comes off his 1st read and delivers a perfect throw on the run on this play #Raiders pic.twitter.com/nNaTcVBvSK
— Matt Holder (@MHolder95) July 20, 2026
Now, let’s get into the fun stuff, starting with the famous first play of the Big Ten Championship where Mendoza delivers a strike on the run right before taking a huge hit.
It’s a designed roll-out that Indiana ran frequently last year, where the tight end in the three-by-one formation blocks to pin the edge defender inside. But Ohio State was ready for it by having the edge defender widen right before the snap and attack the tight end instead of getting caught off-guard, leading to the pressure.
On the backend of the play, the Buckeyes are in man coverage again. The outside corner takes away the go route from the outside receiver, and the slot receiver takes too long to ge...
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