As we enter the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs, daily fantasy players and sports bettors alike are always looking for the edge. Three quarterbacks are going to play through injuries, but will their injuries affect their stats? Are they at risk of worsening their injuries? The answers to these questions and many more can be found below.
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen
Injury: Right foot, Left knee, and right index finger injuries
Analysis: Basically, every area of Allen's body is injured, but all are minor. The most frightening injury from the Wildcard round was the hyperextension moment at his left knee while scoring a touchdown. Immediate video review was not overly concerning as the hyperextension excursion was minimal, nowhere near enough to cause ligament damage, instead, likely causing a bone bruise or some other very minor injury. He played through the rest of the game and looked undisturbed and has been a full participant all week.
Allen's foot also looked fine last week, and with no reported setback, he should be nearly over that injury. His finger injury did not appear as serious as fellow star Quarterback Matthew Stafford's, and also should not be a concern. In summary, Allen has a long list of minor injuries that should not cause any major performance deficits.
Matthew Stafford
Injury: Right index finger sprain
Analysis: Stafford gave Rams fans a scare last week after slamming his right index finger on the back of a helmet, and immediatly seeing a dramatic decline in completion percentage afterwards. X-ray's are clean, and Stafford is dealing with a sprain. The good news is he has been practicing in full this week, but it's unlikely this injury is fully resolved. Much of Stafford's skill set will be unaffected, particularly his cognitive ability, and his throwing power will be at baseline. Accuracy, however, can be an issue with index finger sprains. An issue, but not likely a big one, and I would not bet against Stafford being able to have a great game, but he may miss on a few passes he normally would hit.