FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If Fernando Mendoza showed any nerves in his cameo of an NFL debut on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, they dissipated very quickly.

By the end of his lone drive late in the Las Vegas Raiders’ ugly 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots, the top pick was loose enough to be ad-libbing in the huddle.

“He said something like, ‘worst-case scenario, I just find my guy 23 (Dylan Laube) for a couple yards,’” Laube relayed after the game. “I was his security blanket.”

Not that Mendoza, who was born in nearby Boston, needed one. Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and national champion looked mostly poised and comfortable on his nine dropbacks.

“He drove us down the field,” said Laube, who caught Mendoza’s first career pass attempt for a 2-yard gain. “I know it’s tough because it’s the end of the game and we’re down a bunch, but he had a great drive. He stayed composed and played really well for the first drive of his career.”

It wasn’t how the No. 1 pick in the draft pictured his first NFL experience. He was called upon with 6:06 to play on the wrong end of a one-sided score.

But Mendoza made the most of the opportunity.

“It wasn’t a great experience because of the overall outcome,” he said. “I wanted to do my part any way I could to help the team.

“But it is good experience to have some regular-season snaps to evaluate and get better from so in the future, if I am called upon, I have at least a little experience rather than none.”

That was coach Klint Kubiak’s goal in inserting the rookie into the fifth game of the season, the first of the season to not have the outcome in doubt during the fourth quarter.

“Just wanted to get him some exposure,” Kubiak said. “ He did a good job and all the reps are valuable.”

Not good enough to take the job from starter Kirk Cousins, if that was ever a question.

Kubiak affirmed the team has no plans to make the switch permanent even after Mendoza was 6-for-8 as a passer for 48 yards in mop-up duty.

Mendoza, who grew up idolizing Patriots legend and current Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and watched him play many games in this stadium on television, offered a bit sharper critique after his drive was halted at the 11-yard line when his fourth-down scramble was stopped a yard short of the marker.

“We didn’t come away with points, so it was overall a quote-unquote failure,” Mendoza said. “But I really appreciate how my teammates rallied and how much effort they put in late in the fourth quarter.”

He believes on the fourth-down play that he had Deven Thompkins open and should have stayed in the pocket and been willing to absorb a hit to find him.

“That is totally my fault and I let the offense down on that play,” he said. “I was a little bit between running and scramble drill because it was fourth down. I need to work on my speed because I wasn’t fast enough to get to the edge. But I really need to hit (Thompkins) over the middle.”

That’s typical of Mendoza, who tends to be a bit hyper-critical.

Cousins, however, applauded his efforts in relief.

“He did a nice job competing,” the mentor said. “I thought he played well and did a good job.”

That started with the checkdown to Laube and then a 9-yard pass to Ian Thomas to move the chains.

“It’s all about the first first down, that’s how you get a drive going.” Mendoza said. “Ian showing up big and the offensive line protecting fantastically. It was a great feeling to be back there in comfort because I know the line is going to protect.”

He would complete his next three attempts to Tre Tucker, Thompkins and another to Laube before his first misfire to Malik Benson, with whom he had a strong connection in training camp.

He hit Benson for 6 yards and then couldn’t connect with him on third down before coming up short on the fourth-down scramble.

“Every rookie has (their debut) at some point,” Mendoza said. “It was just that time and I was really proud of how the offense rallied even that late in the game and with undeniable effort there at the end.”

He credited the offensive coaching staff, particularly quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan for keeping him ready by insisting he listens to the play calls, repeats them and then goes through the reads even when he is not in the game.

Mendoza also keep his arm warm by throwing with Cousins before every offensive series.

“One thing they always emphasize is staying engaged in the game,” he said. “They have made sure I’m always ready to go.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.