The thirteenth day of the regular season came with a high price in terms of the injured, when the postseason is already on the horizon.
In the middle of the final stretch of the regular season of the NFL, and with the playoffs in sight, the health of the players takes on greater importance. When it comes to quarterbacks, twice as much.
The NFL Week 13 It brought us a series of injuries that, in the best of cases, are worrying in the short term –one or two weeks–, but in the worst of scenarios, has left contending teams without key players to face what is coming .
For some teams, there may be a solution at hand, either on the active roster or the practice squad. For others, in the next few hours they will contact veteran agents with enough experience to quickly adapt to a given game system without much time to train. There are no great alternatives.
With a game to play in the week 13the “Monday Night Football” between the New Orleans Saints y Tampa Bay Buccaneerswe take a look at the costly balance that the day left in terms of key injuries, five weeks after the conclusion of the regular season:
This is probably one of the injuries that went under the radar this Sunday, considering the names of the quarterbacks hurt this weekend. However, one cannot speak highly enough of what Brown represents as one of the two starting cornerbacks in Dallas.
On the one hand, against Indy, he deflected a pass that ended in an interception of Malik Hooker, setting up a touchdown for the Cowboys. On the other hand, on the first play after he left in the assist cart with an ankle problem, shameless for the rest of the season, his substitute, Kelvin Josephallowed a touchdown pass.
Safe, Trevon Diggs He gets most of the spotlight, fair enough, but Brown is an important piece for one of the best defenses in the NFL. Jerry Jones mentioned the likelihood that he would have an Achilles tendon at the end of the game, which would not only end his season but also require nearly a year of rehab.
The most serious injury of the day, in terms of seriousness, seems to be the one suffered by the Niners, when they were left without a quarterback due to a broken left foot. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already confirmed that Garoppolo needs surgery and will miss the remainder of the season, and San Francisco closed out today’s game with Brock Purdy at the controls, a rookie who was Mr. Irrelevant as the last pick of the last draft.
Previously, San Francisco also lost their season-opening starting quarterback to injury, Trey Lance, who also does not return in the year. The 49ers sit atop the NL West, and are widely considered one of the top three teams in the conference, and genuine candidates for a Super Bowl return. What happened this afternoon at the top position could change all that, and unfortunately it comes just days after reports out of San Francisco hinted at a possible long-term re-signing for Garoppolo with the organization.
It’s possible to argue that no NFL offense depends on the specific skills of its quarterback, like the Ravens do with Jackson. On Sunday, Jackson suffered a knee injury while being sacked by the Broncos, and promptly left the game, never to return.
Fortunately for the Ravens, the problem doesn’t appear to be serious. “It will be a number of days, to weeks. We’ll see,” coach John Harbaugh said of his quarterback’s injury. “We’ll see if he can play this week. If not, it’ll be a little while later.”
Tyler Huntley He is a substitute more than apt to drive the offensive threads of the Ravens and today he rescued a very valuable victory that allows Baltimore to keep pace with Cincinnati. But, he’s no Jackson.
From which the Jaguars were saved this Sunday, during their defeat against the Lions, in a game in which they could have lost much more. Few expected Jacksonville to still be in contention for a postseason spot, but to pull off the improbable requires a big finisher from their quarterback.
So many held their breath when Lawrence was sacked in a very contorted fashion against Detroit, getting his leg pinned under the defender’s body, and his own. Lawrence must have left the game for a few moments, but he rejoined moments later. Now, it only remains to confirm that there are no long-term consequences, which are sometimes made up for the moment by adrenaline.
Sure, Miller didn’t play in Week 13, when the Bills beat the Patriots to open the day, but word did come out Thursday that he would be placed on injured reserve, where he will miss a minimum of four games — of which which has one–, with five to play.
Miller intends to return to Buffalo for the final two days, but must first recover from a knee injury if he is to be a major part of the Bills’ postseason run. For the moment, they have already recovered the first seed in the AFC, thanks to the defeat of the Chiefs, and if they manage to stay in that place, they will have an additional day to recover injured, including Miller. Without the Super Bowl MVP linebacker, Buffalo struggles more to rush opposing quarterbacks, and that doesn’t bode well when potential matchups await you in the future. Patrick MahomesLamar Jackson y/o Joe Burrow.
There was some question that Rodgers could play this week after he failed to finish the Week 12 game when he came away with what he initially thought was a possible punctured lung. In the end, Rodgers overcame that problem and started for Green Bay against Chicago, scoring another win over their divisional rivals. That, yes, you also have to point out, it was not a particularly fine game.
However, Rodgers has other injuries than the one suffered last week, including a fractured thumb on his right hand that he has played with for some time. Typically, we would think that if Rodgers were to miss any time in the final days because of one of his injuries, it would severely diminish the Packers’ chances. As he has played most of the season, and judging by the little we saw of Jordan Love in Week 12, we’re not so sure anymore.
Miami missed a golden opportunity to force a three-way tie for the AFC lead with the loss of Kansas City because it couldn’t beat San Francisco. Part of the problem was Tagovailoa’s turnovers, two interceptions and a lost fumble.
That performance made it seem, perhaps, that the income of Skylar Thompson It was the product of Tagovailoa’s poor performance on Sunday, and surely that played a role. But, head coach Mike McDaniel also reported at the end of the game that his starting quarterback had suffered an ankle injury, although he clarified that, for now, he is expected to start the next day with the Dolphins.
Tagovailoa didn’t look good in Week 13, but the truth is he’s been one of the best quarterbacks all season, and Miami can’t afford to lose him now.
Stafford is another of those who was not injured this week, but it was in these days that it was confirmed that he was sent to the injured reserve list. Unlike Miller, there’s no guarantee Stafford — with a neck problem — will play again in the season, even though there’s a chance he’ll make his four games out sooner. after the end of the campaign.
The truth is that the Rams are so far from the possibility of the playoffs, although they are not mathematically eliminated, that in Los Angeles they are already thinking more about recovering a healthy Stafford for the 2023 regular season. Here, we are before the worst season for a defending Super Bowl champion in recent memory, and injuries played a part.
There are those who think that the mirage of the Seahawks in the campaign lives overtime, and this afternoon they suffered more to overcome a very decimated Rams in a duel of the NFC West. Although Seattle ultimately salvaged the win, this afternoon’s game came with an injury to rookie running back Walker, who did not return to the game after suffering an ankle injury.
Walker came on late in the season, starting the last seven games in a row, including today’s, and in two of them he passed 100 yards and two touchdowns for the Seahawks. Seattle has already lost the division lead it boasted at the start of the season, but it’s in the thick of the postseason race. At the start of the season, they were left without Rashard Penny, also due to injury, and this Sunday, DeeJay Dallas he also got hit. It is never advisable to lose your ground game, but less so when the seasons change and you have to play more grounded. We still have to wait for news on what is diagnosed for the rookie.