By Scott Kacsmar
The injuries to NFL skill players in Week 9 were not too bad unless you are a fan of the Green Bay Packers, for which it was another rough day in Detroit. But we may also need to reset the clock on weeks without a major quarterback injury as the front-runner for MVP has a real concern going into one of Week 10’s biggest games.
Here are the notable injuries from Week 9 that you should take notice of for your fantasy teams, DFS lineups, Same Game Parlays, and other prop bets this week.
Top NFL Injuries From Week 9
QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
For the first half of this season, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have been the main story. The Bills have been Super Bowl favorites every week since the preseason, and they are still hanging on by a sliver over the Eagles and Chiefs.
Allen was the preseason favorite for MVP, and he was leading the whole way going into Sunday’s game with the Jets. But after a couple of rough interceptions early in the game, Allen found himself trailing 20-17 in the final minutes. A game-winning drive in this spot would only bolster his MVP chances, but one quick pressure has potentially changed this season dramatically for Allen and the Bills.
On a second-and-2 just three snaps into the drive, Allen was pressured from the edge and his elbow was hit, causing him to fumble the ball. The Bills nearly lost the game right there, but they recovered the ball, and Allen eventually threw a deep ball nearly 70 yards to Gabriel Davis on fourth down. But the pass was not caught, and the Bills lost.
Allen is being evaluated for an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and the nerves associated with it. The Bills are hoping he can play Sunday, but this is very much up in the air going into Wednesday.
As a rookie in 2018, Allen missed four games with a similar UCL injury. This is not going to be a season-ending injury by any means, but it would not be a shock if we don’t see Allen again until maybe Week 13 against the Patriots on December 1. Of course, he still uncorked that ridiculous deep ball two plays after the injury on Sunday, but that was also him running on pure adrenaline at the moment.
For the best long-term care of Allen this season, the Bills may not want to rush him back on the field this week. Case Keenum is one of the most capable backups in the league with 64 starts in the regular season, and if the Bills have to use him for this upcoming schedule against the Vikings, Browns, and Lions, then it is still within reach for the Bills to go 2-1 or even 3-0 without Allen here. The biggest thing the Bills will miss is Allen’s rushing ability, but the offense should be smart enough to get Devin Singletary more involved on the ground with Keenum in the game.
What are the early ramifications of Sunday’s loss and Allen’s potential injury? He has fallen from the MVP lead to third place behind Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. The Bills opened as an 8.5-point favorite at home against the 7-1 Vikings, but that line is already down to 5.5 and may move closer to Minnesota if the Allen news is bad.
But there is still very much a possibility Allen is playing this Sunday against Minnesota. You’ll just have to acknowledge that he has thrown four interceptions since he’s thrown his last touchdown and we’ll see how he handles this elbow issue going forward.
WR Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers
You have to feel bad for Romeo Doubs, who had a great touchdown catch in Buffalo the week before and was hoping to build on that with a big day against the league’s bottom-ranked defense in Detroit.
On the very first offensive snap of the game, Doubs caught an 18-yard pass. But he ended up suffering a high ankle sprain and was carted off the field. With this type of injury for a wide receiver, chances are Doubs will miss multiple weeks. He is definitely out for the Dallas game on Sunday, leaving Aaron Rodgers and the Packers very thin once again at receiver.
Rodgers is basically down to Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins, and seeing if rookie Christian Watson can get through a game unscathed. The closest Rodgers ever came to a receiving corps this thin was the 2015 season when Davante Adams wasn’t a stud yet and Jordy Nelson tore his ACL in the preseason. That was the season Rodgers set a career-low 6.7 yards per pass attempt, his only season under 7.0.
Well, this season Rodgers is at 6.6 yards per attempt. The age-based decline is there to an extent with Rodgers throwing a baffling three interceptions in Detroit, but these constant injuries at the skill positions have also been very problematic for Rodgers trying to run a productive offense this season.
RB Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay injury news is more optimistic for No. 1 running back Aaron Jones’ ankle after he left Sunday’s game in the second half and logged a season-low 30 snaps. Jones appears to have avoided any serious ankle injury and will have a chance to return to action this Sunday against Dallas.
The last time Jones played the Cowboys in 2019, he had one of the best games of his NFL career. He rushed for 107 yards and a career-high four touchdowns to go along with seven catches for 75 yards.
But the Packers are really struggling on offense, the Dallas defense is much improved from that season, and you know Jones is still going to split time with AJ Dillon, who isn’t taking a step forward in his third year like the team had hoped.
WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
Watson is becoming a weekly feature here, but this time it sounds more precautionary than anything. Since he had a concussion in Buffalo in Week 8, the Packers were just being cautious with Watson and removed him from the game after he took a blow to the chest and lost his breath. He did not suffer a new concussion.
The Packers are going to need him. He actually had his most productive game of the season with Aaron Rodgers in Detroit, catching two passes for 24 yards to convert a pair of third downs.
With fellow rookie Romeo Doubs out, Watson has to step up this week in a tough matchup with Dallas.
RB Deon Jackson, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts cannot seem to catch a break at running back this season. Deon Jackson got his second start of the season with Jonathan Taylor out again and Nyheim Hines was traded to Buffalo. The game did not go well for Jackson, who finished with 13 touches for 36 yards.
But Jackson also suffered what looked like a scary knee injury that kept him down on the sideline in the third quarter. Jackson came back in the game and was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 run to start the fourth quarter. Jordan Wilkins and Phillip Lindsay ended up finishing the game at running back for the Colts.
It is unclear what Jackson’s status will be going forward, but we know the Colts are going to try to get Taylor back as soon as possible to dominate the running back touches. With the team going to Sam Ehlinger at quarterback and Jeff Saturday as the interim head coach, you might not want a single fantasy asset from the Colts for the rest of the season anyway. If you thought the offense was bad when Matt Ryan was coughing up the ball, imagine how much worse things can get with head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Marcus Brady being fired for an ESPN analyst with no significant coaching experience.
TE Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
Engram briefly left Sunday’s game with an injury scare to his back. The team is considering it a minor issue, but it is worth pointing out that Engram had a season-low 8 receiving yards and played a season-low 55% of the offensive snaps against the Raiders.
Should Engram suit up for the team’s game in Kansas City, he gets a decent matchup against a defense he scored a touchdown against last season in Arrowhead that is allowing the fifth-most points per game to tight ends in 2022. But you still have to consider this is Evan Engram we’re talking about, and he finished that Kansas City game with 15 yards. He remains a low-usage, emergency situation player in all formats.
