Raiders Today

Raiders' Rookie OL on Win in First NFL Start

The Las Vegas Raiders found an important win on Sunday afternoon against the Cleveland Browns at home. Rookie offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson spoke on making his first NFL start and the team win.

Tom Cavanaugh

Las Vegas Raiders OL Jackson Powers-Johnson
Las Vegas Raiders OL Jackson Powers-Johnson / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated
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The Las Vegas Raiders picked up a much-needed win over the Cleveland Browns, 20-16, at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Rookie offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson made his first career NFL start and addressed the media following the team's second win of the year.

Powers-Johnson dealt with a shoulder injury that kept him out of training camp, all of preseason, and the first two weeks of the regular season. He has slowly worked back to being fully healthy and with 21 solid snaps last week, he earned himself a starting spot this week against the Browns.

“I think bringing the energy, just being me and being able to have enthusiasm and play how I'm supposed to play," Powers-Johnson said after the win. "I've been playing a lot of catchup, and now that I'm to the shape that I want to be and playing like I want to be, I can start being myself now and play like the reason why this great organization drafted me.”

Powers-Johnson was a beast on Sunday, allowing zero pressures on 29 pass blocks against a tough Browns defense. He ranked in the top three in lowest pressure rates allowed by a rookie in Week 4.

The former Oregon Duck reflected on the atmosphere that Allegiant Stadium delivered and what it means to start a game in the National Football League, especially as a rookie offensive lineman.

“Just exciting, going out there, get to contribute with guys and getting to do that at the start, it’s a great thing and definitely a dream come true,” Powers-Johnson said. “Just being able to start my first NFL game and especially at home in front of those great Raider fans, I mean, you can't ask for anything better.”

The running game had its best day of the season, rushing for 152 yards, and a lot of that run game was used between the tackles. Powers-Johnson gave all the credit to his backfield and the guys next to him who helped pave the way for a successful day running the rock.

“Amazing running backs,” Powers-Johnson said with a smile. “Seriously, they ran unbelievable today and especially all the guys around, just everybody did their job. We just played complimentary ball, we blocked for each other, we didn't just block for ourselves, we blocked for each other, and I think that's why we had a good week, and what's great is we get to go prove it next week.”

For the Raiders, "complementary ball" is the best way to phrase it so far this season. For a team that was missing several key starters and did not have much success offensively, they found a way to win, and Powers-Johnson was a big piece of that. It's very likely he continues in the starting role.

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Tom Cavanaugh
TOM CAVANAUGH

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