McCoy, Mixon Lead Notable NFL Injuries from Week 2
Football injuries can extend beyond just hurting your fantasy rosters and DFS lineups. The NFL is a physically demanding league, and every week a new group of players heads to the sidelines with key injuries that can affect the betting market. Here are a handful of the notable injuries from Week 2 of the NFL to help you with your football handicapping process.
LeSean McCoy – RB, Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are the worst of the worst in the NFL this season, and now things look like they’ve gotten worse with a rib injury to starting running back LeSean McCoy. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that McCoy “should not miss more than one game, if that,” but playing with what is said to be cracked rib cartilage will be no treat for a professional football running back.
Oftentimes, McCoy was the lone bright spot in the Bills offense. He’s coming off a 2017 that saw him rush for 1,138 yards and have 448 yards receiving, but 2018 has been an extremely slow start for McCoy. So far, he’s only mustered 61 yards on the ground and 28 yards in the air in 2018, and he’s yet to find the end zone. If Buffalo continues to be the basement team it very much appears to be, it simply may not be worth playing McCoy until he isn’t as banged up.
The Bills head to Minnesota in Week 3 to play the Vikings, where they opened as 16.5-point underdogs.
Joe Mixon – RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Mixon has added an impressive element to the Cincinnati Bengals offense. He’s off to 179 rushing yards and 57 passing yards this season, but the budding star is looking at being sidelined 2-4 weeks with a knee injury that required a small procedure.
The Bengals are 2-0 and off to a very good start, but the Mixon injury could slow them down a little bit. If you noticed in Week 2’s Thursday Night Football tilt against the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals offense stalled when Mixon had to go out of the game. He came back in later in the game, but during the time he was sidelined the offense wasn’t moving as well. This could be a sign of things to come for Cincinnati, as Mixon is anticipated to miss up to four weeks. Giovani Bernard is a good running back and provides a nice pass-catching option, but he’s not as good of a pure runner as Mixon is and that could affect things.
The Bengals get the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, where they opened as 3-point underdogs on the road.
Jarvis Landry – WR, Cleveland Browns
Jarvis Landry is far and away the top receiving option for the Cleveland Browns, solidified even more now that Josh Gordon has been traded to the New England Patriots. Landry is dealing with a knee issue that kept him limited in practice Monday and Tuesday. With their next game coming up quick with the Thursday Night Football matchup against the New York Jets, Landry will need to get nursed back to health in a very short period of time.
The Browns opened as 3.5-point favorites at home against the Jets, and the line has since moved to an even field goal at most sportsbooks.
Cam Robinson – LT, Jacksonville Jaguars
Starting left tackle Cam Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars was lost for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in Week 2 against the New England Patriots. Robinson is a strong piece to the Jaguars after being drafted in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s one of the power pieces known for paving the way for Leonard Fournette in the run game, while also protecting the backside of Blake Bortles.
The 2-0 Jaguars get a home game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 3. A line hasn’t been posted for this game yet, as sportsbooks await the news on Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Jon Halapio – C, New York Giants
After winning the job in the lead up to the season, New York Giants center Jon Halapio suffered a broken ankle in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys. He’ll miss the rest of the season. His loss affects an offensive line that is already scraping the bottom of the league, ranked 24th in pass protection DVOA and 32nd in run blocking DVOA, according to Football Outsiders.
Eli Apple – CB, New York Giants
In addition to losing Halapio, the Giants could be without third-year cornerback Eli Apple in Week 3 after he injured his groin against the Cowboys in Week 2. Apple went to the sidelines and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game, and that’s not a positive sign. Groin injuries typically take 1-4 weeks to heal, and a prolonged injury to Apple would put the Giants secondary in an even tougher spot than it already is.
The Giants face off against the Houston Texans in Week 3. The line opened with the Texans as 3-point favorites but has since moved to Houston (-6).
Jay Ajayi – RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Jay Ajayi is the lead running back in the Philadelphia Eagles offense, but he’s dealing with a back issue and could be out for Week 3. With Darren Sproles also looking like he could be out for another week of action, the Eagles brought up Josh Adams from the practice squad and it looks as though it could very well be Corey Clement and Adams carrying the rushing load for Philadelphia when they square off against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
The Eagles opened as 7-point favorites, but the line dropped a half point in most places, despite the news that Carson Wentz has been cleared to play.
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