NFL Injuries Soar: Did the NFL Rush the 2020 Season?

Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season saw an abnormally high number of serious injuries. Is it possible the league rushed the 2020 season?

This week featured some exceptional matchups. The Seahawks made a goal line stand to beat the Patriots (ironic, right?) and the Cowboys got the best of Atlanta, completing a huge 4th quarter comeback after the Falcons players apparently forgot the onside kick rules.

However, the biggest takeaway from week 2 was the alarmingly high number of injuries across the league. In particular, torn ACLs seemed to be strangely common.

Also read: NFL injuries: List of players who got injured in week 2

NFL Injuries Plague Week 2

It would be hard to choose which injuries were the most impactful. 3 starting QBs and arguably the 2 best running backs in the league went down on Sunday. It’s already bad enough even if you don’t mention the massive injuries to defensive players like Nick Bosa.

The list seems pretty extensive right? Although it may look that way, these are only the season ending injuries. You could practically make a starting line up with the remaining injured players.

Drew Lock, Jimmy Garopolo, and Christian McCaffrey are just some of the big names amongst the list of other players with serious injuries but possible returns in 2020.

Also read: Colin Kaepernick: Will Colin Kaepernick Make An NFL Comeback in 2020?

Did the League Rush the 2020 Season?

Well, 49ers fans probably think so. Their starting QB, 2 RBs, 2 DEs including DROY Nick Bosa, starting center, 3 WRs, and All-Pro TE George Kittle are already injured.

Sure, injuries are not uncommon in football, but this is practically unheard of. It’ll be hard for the reigning NFC championships to even have a fraction of last year’s success if half their starters are watching from the sideline.

San Francisco was definitely hit the hardest, but it has been trend we’ve seen across the league. When there’s an effect, there’s usually a cause; could the cause of this freakish run of injuries be a lack of a preseason?

Some fans were quick to point out that the reason for the rise on injuries could be because the offseason was impacted due to COVID-19. There was no preseason and the number of padded practices was reduced.

Obviously, it’s important that players participate in full-speed, contact football prior to the start of the season. The lack of time for preparation could very well be the culprit for the increased injuries.

However, there’s no way to say for sure. Even if there was a preseason, starters normally play just a single series or quarter in each game. Bosa and Barkley, who are both out for the season with torn ACLs, didn’t even play at all during the 2019 preseason.

At this point, we simply have to hope it’s an unfortunate coincidence. Nevertheless, if players keep getting injured at this rate, the league has a serious problem on it’s hands.