Battered and Bruised: NFL Contenders Hit Hard by Injuries
September 17, 2025
49ers
Dealing with the losses of George Kittle and Brock Purdy, Mac Jones was next man up to keep the San Fran season alive. There were many rumors back in the 2021 draft class that Jones was the quarterback that Shanahan preferred, and now he finally got to watch him lead his offense. Mac Jones shined throwing for nearly 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. They survived at least one week here and got the win against a weak New Orleans squad.
Bengals
Surprise, surprise, Joe Burrow is down again. At some point, we need to stop blaming everyone else around him. Do you watch the Bengals? Like, actually watch them? No, not look at the box score. Actually watch a game from start to finish. You’d see Burrow unnecessarily running into pressure, fumbling the ball away, do things you don’t see other guys do. He moves in the pocket like he’s wearing a blindfold and begging to get sawed in half.
Same as 2023, Jake Browning should be just fine. What’s it matter, the defense would’ve given up 30 a game regardless of who’s at QB. Don’t look into bringing other guys in via trade. Cousins? Winston? Stop. By the time they’re up to speed they will have already lost 3 games. Oh, boy, Cincy.. At least you have Tee. Now he can drop passes thrown by someone else.
Commanders
Another injury that occurred last week that has made major story lines heading into week 3 is the knee of Jayden Daniels. Daniels is currently listed as day to day and will give his spot to Marcus Mariota should he miss this weeks game. It has been a rough start for the Commanders offense and this hiccup right as the season gets going won’t make things any easier.
Vikings
We were really hoping for more from JJ coming into the season. He looked ROUGH for much of the opener against Chicago but the Bears did what they do and allowed the Vikings to hang around look enough for JJ to find himself a bit. Thinking he was ready to roll now as they headed into their home opener against Atlanta, he then laid another egg. It was a strange defensive battle, he had some moments but very clearly missed some throws. Now that he’s out with an ankle sprain, we’ll see how Carson Wentz looks as the started. If he lights up the scoreboard, there might be an awkward conversation coming between KOC and JJM.
Keith, Author
Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.
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