Left tackle Penn out for Raiders against Texans

Star left tackle Donald Penn is out with a knee injury for the Oakland Raiders in their AFC wild-card playoff game against the Houston Texans on Saturday. With Penn out, the Raiders will look to Menelik Watson to protect rookie third-string quarterback Connor Cook’s blind side in his first NFL start.

Raiders to start Connor Cook at QB against Texans

For the first 15 games of the season, rookie Connor Cook was inactive each week, making his biggest contribution as a scout team quarterback who would sometimes dress up like Cam Newton or Philip Rivers before Oakland faced those stars to lighten the mood at practice. Now with the Raiders set to play their first playoff game in 14 years, Cook has been thrust into a much more significant role.

Raiders head into playoffs with uncertainty at quarterback

Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt McGloin sits on the sideline with an injury during the first half of the team’s NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Denver. Oakland Raiders quarterback Connor Cook fumbles in the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Denver.