Injuries always reshape the NFL season, but the volume and star power feel especially impactful this year.
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Down they went, one after another, falling stars crashing to earth — and hitting the locker room early.
By the end of Sunday’s NFL action, the leaguewide injury report looked like the closing credits of a disaster movie. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley left with a hamstring injury. Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase (concussion) and Tee Higgins (adductor) both departed. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson exited with an ankle injury and was later seen in a walking boot.
The Kansas City Chiefs lost wide receiver Rashee Rice to a hamstring injury, then watched wideout Tyquan Thornton get carted off after a gruesome lower-leg injury. The Denver Broncos lost both starting cornerbacks, including all-pro Patrick Surtain II, who needed help off the field after a noncontact ankle injury. Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Jonathan Greenard left with an ankle injury. And the Washington Commanders had to turn to rookie third-string quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis after Marcus Mariota, who was starting in place of injured Jayden Daniels, exited with a knee injury in the first quarter.
And that is only the quick-hit version.
Football is always dangerous, of course. The Sunday spotlight tends to find the blue tents and sideline training tables. But Week 4 brought an especially jarring wave, with stars and indispensable starters disappearing from game after game, giving teams an early lesson in contingency planning.
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The NFL does not hand out trophies to the team that stays healthiest. It usually rewards the team that can best navigate inevitable injuries. Consider the 49ers, whose depth chart lately feels like a fast-moving escalator. San Francisco entered Sunday with 16 players on injured reserve and two more on the physically unable to perform list. The team listed another 11 players on its injury reports last week. And that was before fullback Kyle Juszczyk left the 49ers’ 24-14 win over Denver with a knee injury.
Still, San Francisco is 4-0, one of just three remaining unbeaten teams. Only one NFL club has scored more points; only two defenses have allowed fewer.
By Monday morning, the standings will still say October. A lot of rosters, though, will already feel like December — and the teams that keep finding useful names at the bottom of the depth chart may be the ones still playing deep into January.
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