Matt’s Medical Tent Talks: Week 12 Recap

The final week of the regular season. Did we really make it here? Yea. Yea we did. The beginning of COVID, a virtual draft, no offseason, a weird pre-season, no pre-season games, a Titans outbreak to start the season, Raven’s outbreak to finish the season, Tuesday games, Wednesday games, a million high ankle sprains, a physician punctured lung, a million more high ankle sprains, and PLENTY of other things in between, but here we are in Week 13, you’ve made it. It’s not over yet, though, so stick with me and the whole Hateful 8 crew as we get you ready for ALL the ‘chips to be had in a few weeks. The final road starts right here. Let’s dive into some of the injuries from week 12 and get you ready for week 13.  

***P.S. – Just because there’s no TNF doesn’t mean there’s no injury podcast, I’ll be LIVE tonight with all the latest injury news and breakdowns!***

Week 12 Injuries

Daniel Jones, QB, NYG – Hamstring

After finally starting to put together some momentum late in the season, the young quarterback suffered a hamstring strain in Week 12. Jones left the game, re-entered, and then left a final time as he was unable to play through the injury. Jones is questionable for Sunday, with a DNP on Wednesday to start the practice week. Regardless of status come gameday, Jones is not worth playing in week 13, albeit, in a favorable matchup against the Seahawks. Jones is currently third in the NFL for quarterback rushing yards behind only Kyler and Lamar. All of that rushing upside is GONE. His passing motion is also likely affected. If he turns into Eli for mobility purposes in the pocket, and can’t throw…what’s the upside? Now, this is all purely conjecture as it is quite possible Jones is ruled out prior to Sunday, but if he’s not, make sure he’s on your bench. 

Prognosis: Good chance he doesn’t play as this may become a multi-week injury. Monitor practice reports, and whatever you do, don’t play him Sunday if active. 

Josh Allen, QB, BUF – Knee

On a pretty ugly hit where Allen was twisted around and tackled, I was initially concerned about a high ankle sprain as the mechanism for such an injury was certainly there. Thankfully, based on most reports, the tackle had more of an impact on the knee (MCL) instead of the “high-ankle” region as we saw Allen return to the game after halftime with a knee brace, a brace that specifically limits medial and lateral stressors to the MCL and LCL. Considering Allen was able to jump right back in and lose little to no mobility (ran for a TD later in the game), this is likely a grade I sprain that I expect Allen to tough out and continue to play through. We’ll get the Bills’ initial practice reports later today (Thursday) as they play Monday night. 

Prognosis: Based on the ability to play through the injury in Week 12, I expect more of the same in Week 13. I’d still be on the lookout for a potential high ankle sprain. 

Josh Jacobs, RB, LV – Ankle

A player who more clearly suffered a high ankle sprain is, unfortunately, Josh Jacobs. Initial practice reports out of Gruden say that Jacobs is confident he will play versus the Jets. I’m not so sure. We’ve discussed the injury timeline of high ankle sprains at length, and that even a mild high ankle sprain is still a problem and will limit agility and explosiveness. Jacobs has toughed out multiple injuries already at this point in his young career, but with a high ankle sprain, and a mysterious hip injury that already was obviously impacting him on Sunday, temper expectations if he plays. 

Prognosis: Week-to-week; Raiders and Jacobs think there is a good chance he plays, regardless, I don’t think you’ll like the results despite a juicy matchup against the Jets. 

Phillip Lindsay, RB, DEN – Knee

Lindsay suffered a “minor” knee injury Sunday. Despite the “minor” tag, Lindsay was unable to practice to start the week, putting his game status in doubt. We’ll monitor practice reports for status and any definitive diagnosis, but for now, Lindsay is a toss-up. 

Prognosis: “minor injury” + DNP to start the week sends mixed signals, need more clarification as the week progresses. 

DJ Moore, WR, CAR – Ankle

After initial worries regarding Moore’s Achilles were VASTLY overblown, as the footage demonstrated a “low ankle” sprain, fantasy managers and Panthers fans were able to let out a sigh of relief. While his season is far from over, Moore did seem to roll his ankle with quite a bit of force potentially increasing the severity of the injury. At this point, all we know is Moore has not been ruled out for Week 14 (Week 13 bye). If Moore is able to perform football-specific moves despite the pain, he has the potential to wrap up the ankle for stability and play next week. He’ll be monitored.

Prognosis: Week-to-week

Please make sure to follow me on Twitter @DocMiragz, also if you are looking for in-depth help headed down the home stretch. Make sure to go to AverageJoeNation.com and get our Weekly Projections and DFS Help!