The Las Vegas Raiders had plenty of weaknesses in their 41-24 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season. The defense was awful despite backup quarterback Marcus Mariota making his first start since 2022 in place of the injured star Jayden Daniels.
Also, the special teams unit allowed several big plays, including a 69-yard kickoff return to open the game and a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown. The biggest concern with the team heading into Week 4, however, is still the offensive line.
While the defense actually looked good over the first games, allowing 16.5 points per game to the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers, the offensive line's struggles have been a consistent theme throughout the season.
Pete Carroll shares his stance on Jackson Powers-Johnson playing center
The unit has struggled in both pass protection and at creating lanes in the running game, as the Raiders have allowed tied for the second-most sacks while ranking 30th in rushing yards. While it appears that the coaching staff will continue to tinker with the group, it is clear that Las Vegas needs a change on the offensive line
While speaking with the media on Wednesday, Carroll was asked about returning to the alignment that ended the 2024 season, which was Jordan Meredith at left guard, Jackson Powers-Johnson at center and Dylan Parham at right guard. Carroll quickly made his stance clear on Powers-Johnson's future at center.
"Absolutely not. No," Carroll said. "We've invested a lot of time with these guys playing in their spots. I know you're interested in JPJ. This is an official week to practice and get ready. Last week was not that. So, he's ready to compete for playing time, and he and Alex (Cappa) will be going at it, so it's a good situation in that regard. ... Jackson hasn't hit anybody in two weeks. We got to see what he can do, so we got to check him out and see how he does."
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It remains unclear why Powers-Johnson has been in the proverbial doghouse. However, the concussion that sidelined him in Week 2 could explain his absence last weekend, as Las Vegas was playing on a short week.
The decision to continue to have him compete with Cappa, who has been nothing short of awful over the past two weeks, is inexplicable, however. It was just last offseason that the Raiders used the 44th overall pick in the draft to bring Powers-Johnson in.
While there is now a new regime in Las Vegas, there is no reason that Cappa, an eight-year veteran who has proven he is not the answer, should be getting playing time over an All-Rookie offensive lineman from last season.
But Carroll seems to know something that the fan base doesn't, so he said the exact thing that they did not want to hear, which is that Powers-Johnson is not returning to center anytime soon.