Raiders rule out Jackson Powers-Johnson as Caleb Rogers draws the start vs Chiefs

The Raiders settled their offensive line on Friday, and it cost them a starter. Las Vegas ruled out right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson with a groin injury on the official Week 4 injury report. He hurt it late in last Sunday's win at New Orleans and did not practice once all week, so the ruling closes the week the way it opened.

Caleb Rogers takes the job, and that is not a panic move. Rogers was Powers-Johnson's competition at right guard through camp and started six games there as a rookie last season, and head coach Klint Kubiak said during camp that he still saw "two starters" at the position. The timing is less kind. Rogers' first assignment is Chris Jones, who has built a career out of turning interior guesswork into lost downs.

Kansas City has a hole of its own. The Chiefs ruled out left tackle Josh Simmons, who has not practiced all season with a bulging disc in his lower back. Everything else on their report came back clean: Patrick Mahomes, Jones, Rashee Rice, L'Jarius Sneed and four others practiced in full with no game designation. Read that as a healthy 3-0 team arriving with one soft edge, and it happens to be the edge Maxx Crosby lines up against.

The only other Raider carrying a designation is Aidan O'Connell, questionable for non-injury reasons after two weeks away on a personal matter. Kubiak said he expects O'Connell to be available as the emergency third quarterback behind Kirk Cousins.

Kansas City isn't treating this as a Week 4 formality. "These games count as two," Jones said of division games. Mahomes said the Raiders' defense "starts with Maxx and their defensive line," and Andy Reid called Crosby "relentless, tough, heck of a player." Steve Spagnuolo's note on Cousins was that "he gets the ball out so quick that he makes it really difficult," which tells you how the Chiefs intend to play the front.

Opinion, and it's a mild one: the respect is earned and slightly overdue. Minority owner Tom Brady put the Raiders fifth in his Fox power rankings, saying "undefeated gets you in the Top 5," while slotting the Chiefs second. Two 3-0 teams and the AFC West lead settle that argument on the field.

Kickoff is 1:25 p.m. PT at Allegiant Stadium on CBS. Watch the right side of the Raiders line on Kansas City's first few third downs, and watch whether O'Connell is active at all.