The NFL is through Week 6, and there are a ton of surprises. Drake Maye has led the New England Patriots to a lead in the AFC East, including a head-to-head win over the Buffalo Bills. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are near the bottom of the standings, while Aaron Rodgers is leading the Steelers to a three-game lead in the AFC North. Daniel Jones is leading the Indianapolis Colts to glory, but New York Giants fans don’t care because they have Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo.
A lot of these standings have been driven by bad luck of what should be dominant teams in the league, as we’ve already had transitional injuries. Right now, there are more than 260 players listed on injured reserve. That doesn’t even count the players who are on the reserve/PUP list to start the season.
Injuries are always a part of the story, but they feel as impactful this season as any year. Short of the Tom Brady knee injury in 2008, it’s been a while since such clear MVP candidates have gone down so early in the season. So, which injuries are making the biggest impact on the NFL this season?
10. Joe Mixon
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are starting to turn things around thanks to a much easier schedule, but there are still huge questions surrounding the 2-3 team. C.J. Stroud looks better, but it was against the Titans and Ravens (more on them later). Can he continue to look good or will he go back to what he was to start the season?
The real issue here is the running game. The offensive line hasn’t been good for Houston, so the best way to keep Stroud upright is to have a running game that would keep defenses honest. Joe Mixon was really good at that last season, but he’s been MIA to start the year. Nick Chubb has not been close to the player he was at his peak, so Mixon is sorely missed.
Mixon’s injury is a bizarre one. We know it’s a foot injury, but we have no idea if he will come back. He might return in Week 9, or he could never see a football field again. There’s truly an unlimited plethora of options for when Mixon returns.
If the Texans don’t get Mixon back, they might see their season fall further into the abyss. The Colts and Jaguars are both surprising many with their start, and the Texans are already three wins back in the standings. Doing this with an incomplete offense and a harder schedule upcoming doesn’t look good for the Texans.
9. George Kittle
San Francisco 49ers
Legitimately, we could put 10 injuries from the San Francisco 49ers on this list, but every season, the George Kittle injury tends to be the most impactful. Kittle is the type of player that an offense can run through. The 49ers utilize that heavily. When Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, or whoever ends up being the quarterback knows that Kittle isn’t just an outlet, he can create plays out of nowhere.
Kittle suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1. It was unfortunate timing, as the 49ers were looking like they could go on a run. Kittle was playing well, but he hasn’t been seen since.
The 49ers have survived without Kittles (and a laundry list of other players). They are currently 4-2, tied for the lead in the AFC West. While that’s impressive, another injury puts their place atop the standings in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Kittle is returning soon. Head coach Kyle Shanahan says that Kittle is returning to practice this week. That’s good news, but is it too little too late? Hopefully, Kittle is back on the field against the Falcons this week because the league is better with him on the field.
8. Nnambdi Madubuke
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens' defense has been a mess this season. The Ravens are working very hard just to avoid a lost season when this was supposed to be the year they became true Super Bowl contenders. With the Kansas City Chiefs reeling and huge question marks surrounding the Buffalo Bills, the door was open for the Ravens to go and take the AFC as its own.
Somehow, the Ravens have become the worse of the supposed contenders coming into the season. We’ll get to the offense in a bit, but the defense is the main reason why the Ravens are at the bottom of the standings. They have the worst defense in the league. They are allowing 32.3 points per game, which is worst in the NFL.
Injuries have something to do with it. The most impactful was defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike. The big bruiser in the middle re-signed somewhat surprisingly with the Ravens this offseason. He suffered a neck injury before the season, and while it sounded like it wouldn’t be long term at first, it ended up knocking him out for the season.
Without Madubuike, the Ravens can’t stop the run, and they can’t set up a pass rush. There’s no stopping opposing offenses from doing whatever they want, and this is why the Ravens are getting the score run up on them every game.
7. Spencer Shrader
Indianapolis Colts
A kicker? When there are dozens and dozens of position players who have gone on IR and many are lost for the season? This is actually going to be very important. Think about how many kickers have cost their teams games and how many won their teams games this season. The Indianapolis Colts looked like they had the latter.
Spencer Shrader hit 93 percent of his field goals to start the year. He was perfect under 50 yards. That’s important for a team looking for true contention right now. You need to trust your kicker.
Only one team in the league has made more field goals than the Colts, and that’s the 49ers. They are another team dealing with a kicker injury. The Colts are trying to prove themselves as a contender in the AFC. They are led by a resurrected Daniel Jones and a reinvigorated Jonathan Taylor. They also have a great defense.
Imagine if this team lost games because of a kicker? They replaced Shrader with Michael Badgley. He’s a veteran who did go 4-4 last year with the Lions, but he isn’t the strongest kicker. He has serious trouble after 50 yards, which impacts the offense as a whole. If he isn’t reliable post-50, then the Colts will take bigger risks to get closer to the red zone. We’ll see if that ends up impacting the AFC race.
6. Malik Nabers
New York Giants
The New York Giants' season has been a roller coaster. Jaxson Dart starts and wins against the Los Angeles Chargers, then they lose to the lowly New Orleans Saints. Right after that, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles in convincing fashion on national television. Dart and Cam Skattebo have given life to the Giants organization.
We’ve seen teams make big comebacks under rookie quarterbacks before. Unfortunately, we’ve almost never seen a team make a comeback from 2-4 under a rookie quarterback without their top wide receiver. The 4-2 Los Angeles Rams are currently the seven seed in the NFC, so the Giants have a long road ahead if they want to salvage a playoff run.
Without Malik Nabers, it’s not even worth discussing. Nabers suffered a knee injury that will cost him the rest of the 2025 season. The Giants are reportedly looking for wide receiver help through a trade, but another loss might make it seem useless. Despite the excitement, the Giants are in 15th place in the NFC.
With Nabers already on the depth chart, the Giants would let the natural ascension of the offense work. They would naturally get better on offense, and the Giants' talented defense could finally thrive. They could turn it around, but without Nabers, it seems unlikely.
5. CeeDee Lamb
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys need their offense to supplement their defense. Only the Ravens have given up more points per game than the Cowboys. It’s just a dreadful unit that’s not living up to the star on its players’ helmets. Dak Prescott is playing like an MVP candidate, and George Pickens has been a great acquisition.
However, it hasn’t been enough. That’s where the CeeDee Lamb injury comes in. The Cowboys could keep up with anyone if Pickens plays this way and Lamb is healthy. Just think of last week when the Cowboys lost to the Carolina Panthers. Despite scoring 27 points, they only scored three in the fourth quarter, and the Panthers were able to walk off on a field goal.
Lamb is apparently back on the practice field this week, and we’ll be able to see how this offense operates with them both sharing the wide receiver load.
However, it might be too late to save the Cowboys' season. Dallas is 2-3-1 in a very competitive NFC. If it takes even a week or two for Lamb to get up to speed after his injury, the Cowboys might be cooked.
4. Lamar Jackson
Baltimore Ravens
Like the Cowboys, the Ravens are desperate to use their offense to make up for a bad defense. So, when Lamar Jackson went down, even though it wasn’t for very long, it might make it impossible for this team to get back into playoff contention. While nobody is completely giving up on Baltimore, they are now three games back of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.
Baltimore is 1-5 this season. That’s a death knell for just about every team. Jackson will need to be even better than his recent MVP form to get the Ravens back into contention.
Jackson got hurt in his matchup with the Chiefs a few weeks ago. Since then, the Ravens lost 37-20 against Kansas City, 44-10 against the Texans, and 17-3 against the Rams. The offense struggled under Cooper Rush, leading to his eventual replacement by Tyler Huntley. That didn’t work, either.
Jackson is expected to return in Week 7. We don’t see the Ravens scoring three points again as long as he’s under center. The defense isn’t going to get better, and the schedule might get a little easier, but Jackson likely has to go 9-2 for the rest of the year to salvage the season.
3. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt
Los Angeles Chargers
Just a few weeks ago, the Los Angeles Chargers were considered a surprise contender for the Super Bowl. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has this team playing well on offense and defense. They are still leading the standings, and Justin Herbert has been leading a good offense, but it’s starting to look like a house of cards. The main reason for that is injuries to the offensive line.
Specifically, it’s the injuries to Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt that have the season in flux. Slater is going to miss the entire season with a torn patella tendon. That was an initial blow to a team many expected to grow in 2025.
Then, Joe Alt suffered an injury. The former first-round pick has been out with an ankle injury. That means the Chargers’ two top-level tackles have been out for most of the season. Herbert has been sacked 18 times this season, fifth most of any team in the NFL.
That’s definitely due to the missing tackles, so the return of Alt in the coming weeks will be a welcome sight. While it’s not guaranteed Alt will be back in Week 7, he should be back sometime in October.
2. Tyreek Hill
Miami Dolphins
Tyreek Hill’s injury has a long-standing impact on the league despite the Miami Dolphins being mostly terrible. In fact, the Dolphins' season quickly circling the drain is the reason Hill is so important in the first place. Hill was showing he could still be a game-changer. In under four games, he had 265 yards and a touchdown.
Then, Hill suffered as gruesome an injury as you’ll see on national television. Hill’s leg was broken, and he had surgery to repair most of the ligaments in his knee. He’s done for the season at the very least, and it might be surprising to ever see him hit the speeds he once did now that he’s post his 30th birthday.
Despite being on the lowly Dolphins, many expected Hill to be an impactful player to a playoff race. That’s because he was going to be the most prominent trade target in the league. Some thought he could go back to the Chiefs and bring them back to Super Bowl contention, but there are multiple other teams where he’d make sense.
Hill’s injury has him watching the playoff race instead of impacting it. No trade is happening right now.
1. Joe Burrow
Cincinnati Bengals
Say what you will about the Cincinnati Bengals as a team, but they came into this season with an interesting path to contention. With the Baltimore Ravens falling into irrelevancy and Aaron Rodgers leading the Steelers to the division league, Joe Burrow could have easily led the Bengals to Super Bowl contention again.
Unfortunately, he suffered a serious turf toe injury that required surgery. He is going to miss a majority of the season. The expected timeline for the injury is between three and six months. Those are wildly different timelines. It could mean Burrow returns by Week 16 for the last three weeks of the season, or it could cut into Burrow’s offseason training program.
Even if Burrow returns in time for the playoffs, it probably won’t matter. The Bengals have gotten nothing from Jake Browning. He was so awful that the Bengals traded for 40-year-old Joe Flacco and started him after less than a week’s worth of practices.
Maybe Flacco will go on a magical run like he did for the Browns two years ago, but that seems unlikely. It’s more likely that the Bengals season is basically over, and Burrow’s injury in early September was the end.