Raiders reflect on first preseason game ahead of traveling to face Texans

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders took the field at their headquarters in Henderson on Sunday with more aggression, starting with the secondary.

WATCH | Alex Eschelman was at Raiders practice to hear from head coach Klint Kubiak and players:

"We never want to put that on our resume, but it happens, so now we just have to learn from it," Raiders cornerback Darien Porter said.

Porter and the defensive backfield allowed 16 straight completions on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals in the Raiders' preseason opener.

Head coach Klint Kubiak said that position group isn't the only one that needs to get better after the 27-14 loss.

"As a team, we have to improve," Kubiak said. "There's a lot of improvement — offense, defense, special teams. It is our fourth week of training camp. We're a team that's still gelling together."

Kubiak preaches the importance of shocking effort, and some offensive players see future franchise quarterback Fernando Mendoza bringing that energy as the rookie is expected to get more reps against the Texans.

"Seeing him here early morning, late night, walking through the indoor by himself with one of the other rookie quarterbacks, going through the script, just bringing other guys along, Raiders fullback Connor Heyward said. "When you have a quarterback like that, the future is very bright."

The Raiders kick off against the Texans in Houston on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 5 p.m.