Week 8 Results in Rash of Major Injuries Across the NFL

While injuries aren’t uncommon in todays NFL, week eight brought a slew of major injuries that could make the difference in team’s playoff runs. Whether they were MCL tears, concussions, or achillies, major injuries were all over the league. Here are just a couple of of the players that didn’t return to action Sunday afternoon due to injury.

Le’Veon Bell highlights the injury report this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers star running back went down awkwardly on the sidelines after getting tangled up with some defenders. His leg got twisted, resulting in knee damage that may end his season. League sources have confirmed that Bell has “badly torn” his MCL, which may leave him on the shelf for the year. The video of the injury is available online, but may not be for all viewers.

Baltimore Ravens veteran receiver Steve Smith is also done for the season after tearing his achillies. Smith informed the team that this would be his last season, but you have to wonder if he’d go out with such a devastating injury. Certainly not the way he envisioned his career coming to a close.

49ers running back Reggie Bush tore his ACL as he ran out of bounds. The Rams stadium has concrete on the edge of the field by the seats and Bush tried to pull up on it. He went down and hit the wall, resulting in him being carted off. His season is over and his career may also be in jeopardy. Bush has had multiple knee injuries throughout his career, including tears to his PCL, MCL and meniscus.

The scariest injury was easily seen when Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette fell motionless after a hit by a Dallas player sent him to the ground. He laid motionless for an extended period of time as the entire NFL family held its collective breath. He was later moved onto a backboard and carted off the field to the cheers of the fans in attendance. The Seahawks have stated that Lockette has full mobility of his limbs, but suffered a concussion on the play.

Bears running back Matt Forte suffered a knee injury in the teams loss to Minnesota. The Bears don’t believe it is an ACL injury, but more likely an MCL injury. MRI results have not been released.

The Jets are left scrambling for a quarterback after both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith suffered injuries. Fitzpatrick suffered torn ligaments in his thumb and Smith suffered injuries to both his shoulder and abdomen. Expect the Jets to be out on the free agent market, with Matt Flynn being an option. Flynn was cut from Jets training camp in September as part of the roster trims.

These of course are not all of the major injuries of the day. You can check out the rest of the NFL’s injury report here, courtesy of ESPN.

Next: Five Teams That Can Beat the Patriots