NFL preseason Week 2 is here, and it opened with a Thursday night doubleheader. Backup quarterback Aidan O'Connell guided the Las Vegas Raiders to a 17-point comeback in a 22-20 win over the Houston Texans, and the San Francisco 49ers ran away from the Los Angeles Chargers in a 41-17 in-state thumping.
Entering the night, the spotlight was the brightest on No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders quarterback got the start in his second preseason outing after coming on in relief of Kirk Cousins last week, and he played the entire first half. The going was much tougher this time around, which was expected against a much more formidable opponent than the Arizona Cardinals. Las Vegas won more in spite of him than because of him.
Mendoza completed just 8 of 15 passes for 86 yards, and he was responsible for the Raiders' biggest lowlight of the night. Just outside the red zone, Mendoza tossed a ball into traffic and could not chase down Texans linebacker Wade Woodaz, who returned the interception 80 yards for a touchdown.
By the end of the evening, it was 49ers rookie De'Zhaun Stribling who commanded the most buzz. The first-year wide receiver hauled in four catches across two drives, and most notably, he connected three times with starting quarterback Brock Purdy on San Francisco's opening possession.
Stribling, the No. 33 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has been a standout all throughout training camp and looks to be playing his way into the starting lineup.
We chronicled all the action from Thursday night in our live blog below.
Thursday
Raiders 22, Texans 20
49ers 41, Chargers 17
Friday
Jets at Steelers, 7 p.m. ET
Panthers at Jaguars, 7:30 p.m. ET
Packers at Broncos, 9 p.m. ET
Saturday
Commanders at Lions, noon ET
Ravens at Vikings, 1 p.m. ET
Bills at Browns, 1 p.m. ET
Falcons at Colts, 1 p.m. ET
Saints at Rams, 4 p.m. ET
Giants at Dolphins, 4 p.m. ET
Bears at Bengals, 7 p.m. ET
Eagles at Patriots, 7 p.m. ET
Chiefs at Buccaneers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Cowboys at Cardinals, 10 p.m. ET
Sunday
Seahawks at Titans, 8 p.m. ET
The 24-point margin of victory places the 49ers' rout of the Chargers in a tie for the largest blowout of the preseason. If not for a late touchdown pass from DJ Uiagalelei to Jerand Bradley, the scoreboard would have looked even uglier.
Here's that last touchdown, and a reminder as to why you should always play through the whistle:
Adrian Martinez took the "play the next play" mantra to heart tonight. After throwing a pick six, he responded by leading three consecutive touchdown drives to blow this game wide open. The former UFL MVP is on the outside looking in at a roster spot but might be doing himself some serious favors tonight.
He has a touchdown on the ground and through the air over the last two possessions. Here's the second of those scoring plays: A beautiful 17-yard ball to Jordan Watkins.
It's not a bad day to be a linebacker. A couple of hours after Wade Woodaz took an interception to the house, the second game of the night featured a pick six of its own. Chargers linebacker Junior Colson picked off Adrian Martinez and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown.
Colson, a third-round pick in 2024, won a national championship at Michigan while playing for Jim Harbaugh. He made 11 appearances as a rookie and missed all of 2025 due to preseason shoulder surgery.
The second-team quarterbacks are getting plenty of run tonight in Los Angeles. Justin Herbert saw just three snaps, while Brock Purdy only threw six passes before heading to the bench. Other skill position players are in the limelight, instead. And the kickers, who notched three field goals.
Now that's how you compete for a job. 49ers wide receiver Jacob Cowing might have some special teams opportunities ahead of him after an 83-yard punt return touchdown.
The 49ers selected Cowing in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and two years later, he is fighting for a roster spot. Cowing logged just four catches as a rookie and missed the entire 2025 season due to a hamstring injury he sustained last preseason. He ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash before the draft and clearly still has game-breaking speed.
A missed extra point left the door open for some Texans magic, but Raiders safety Devin Lafayette put the game on ice with an interception.
Some notable final stats from Houston:
The comeback is complete! With 19 unanswered points in the second half, the Raiders rallied all the way back to defeat the Texans, and they have Aidan O'Connell to thank. The backup quarterback led a game-winning drive and scored the decisive touchdown himself.
On third-and-1, O'Connell went deep to Brandon Johnson for 33 yards and the biggest passing play of the night.
That set the Raiders up at the 1-yard line. With no timeouts and the clock ticking, O'Connell kept the ball himself and fought over the goal line with a Tush Push.
Dare Ogunbowale twice signed with the Texans, first as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and later as a depth option in their running back room. After spending the last four years in Houston and appearing in 63 games, he latched on with the Raiders. And he delivered a highlight play in his first game against his former team.
It will be a battle to make the Las Vegas roster, but regardless of what happens between now and Week 1, Ogunbowale will have the fond memory of this 20-yard touchdown run.
They were not the most efficient carries he's ever taken, but the four touches Kaelon Black received with the 49ers' starting offense all went for positive yardage as he compiled 12 yards on the first drive of his professional career. Black is in a battle for the No. 2 running back role behind Christian McCaffrey, which is always an important job considering McCaffrey's extensive injury history.
Kyle Shanahan clearly wants to see what he has in Black, whom the 49ers selected in the third round. He's headed back out with the offense for a second drive.
49ers rookie WR De'Zhaun Stribling led the team with seven catches for 63 yards in San Francisco's preseason opener. Would his workload change with the starters playing this week? Nope.
Brock Purdy connected with the rookie three times for 25 yards on the 49ers' opening drive.
Not exactly an explosive start to the Mike McDaniel era in L.A. Justin Herbert and Co. went three-and-out in what will be the QB's lone series of the night.
Omarion Hampton lost one yard on first down, Charlie Kolar picked up 8 yards on second down off play action, then Herbert sailed a pass to Ladd McConkey on third-and-2.
Chigozie Anusiem was carted off the field after going down with a lower body injury during punt coverage. The entire Raiders team came out to see him loaded on the cart. It was just his second snap played of the game. He was pulled down from behind by a Texan while running downfield.
Undrafted out of Colorado State in 2024, he suited up in three games for the Raiders last year.
First downs: LV 7 HOU 11
Total yards: LV 141 HOU 161
Third down efficiency: LV 1-5, HOU 6-10
Turnovers: LV 1 HOU 0
Fernando Mendoza 8/15 86 yards 1 INT (pick six
Davis Mills 11/15 93 yards
C.J. Stroud 4/6 27 yards
Mike Washington Jr. 9 carries 56 yards
Woody Marks 4 carries 37 yards 1 TD
Raiders rookie CB Jermod McCoy gave up a touchdown last week, and he made an even bigger mistake this week. After the Texans failed to convert on a third-and-3 with 1:17 remaining before halftime, Jermod McCoy taunted Justin Watson.
That's a 15-yard penalty, and allowed Houston to keep the drive alive. The Texans took advantage of McCoy's mistake, as Fairbairn converted on a 57-yard field goal.
Fernando Mendoza leads an eight-play, 26-yard drive, and Matt Gay converts on a 52-yard field goal.
The No. 1 overall pick has 36 passing yards on the night.
HOU 17 LV 3 with 13:29 remaining in the second quarter
There's no question who the better team has been through 12 minutes. Houston now leads, 17-0, thanks to a Fairbairn 51-yard field goal.
Fernando Mendoza: 1/4 for 22 yards and 1 INT (pick six)
Davis Mills: 3/4 for 33 yards
C.J. Stroud: 4/6 for 27 yards
Not exactly the response Fernando Mendoza wanted after his pick six.
The Raiders go three-and-out after two Washington runs and an incomplete pass to Jalen Nailor. Former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney pressured Mendoza on third down. Mendoza was 10-years-old when the Texans selected Clowney with the top pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Disaster for the Raiders! No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza threw behind Mike Washington Jr., and Texans rookie LB Wade Woodaz from Clemson picks him off!
Woodaz took it all the way back for six!
Raiders rookie RB Mike Washington Jr. was a big winner in the first preseason game of the year, and he put another huge run on tape this week.
The Houston Texans just went 69 yards on 10 plays, and found the end zone thanks to Woody Marks. The second-year running back rushed four times for 37 yards, and also caught one pass for 6 yards. He was definitely the MVP of that possession.
If you're curious, QB C.J. Stroud completed 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards.
Expect No. 38 overall pick Treydan Stukes to play a role for Vegas in Year 1. He was arguably the top slot corner in this class, but can also make plays in the open field.
While 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will get onto the field for a series or two tonight against the Chargers, he will not have his projected No. 1 receiver by his side. Mike Evans is out with quadriceps tightness, which popped up on Tuesday. He is one of the countless San Francisco players who sustained an injury in the first couple of weeks of camp.
Much-needed positive injury news, on the other hand, is the health of rookie running back Kaelon Black. The Indiana product and third-round pick in April's draft missed the first week of the preseason with an adductor issue but saw ample action in practice the last couple of days with Christian McCaffrey nursing muscle tightness. Now he has an opportunity to push for the No. 2 role behind McCaffrey.
Most of the Chargers' starters will be in action tonight against the 49ers, but injuries have already begun to rear their heads again on an offensive line that dealt with more than its fair share in 2025. Tyler Biadasz will not be in the lineup after he suffered ACL damage and more injuries to his left knee during this week's joint practice with San Francisco. Biadasz, who joined the Chargers this offseason on a three-year, $30 million contract, is out indefinitely.
The next man up for Los Angeles is rookie Jake Slaughter. While he opened camp in a competition for the left guard job, the Chargers list him as the No. 2 option at center behind Biadasz, and he filled in for the veteran when he went down with the knee issue. Slaughter was a standout center at Florida and arrived in Los Angeles this spring as a second-round pick.
