Week 8 Reactions: Adding to the Injury List

Players get hurt in the NFL all the time. It's an absolutely brutal sport and getting through a game without an injury is a win in itself. So much of the recipe for success in fantasy football is injury luck. You can pick the right players in the right matchups but if they get tackled awkwardly or take a nasty hit to the head, the most perfect-looking lineup can go up in flames in an instant. Whether it's trying to grind through a season-long league or making a new DFS lineup each week, getting through without injuries is a major advantage.

And then there are days like Sunday when it felt like everyone on Earth was publicly complaining that one, two, three of four of their players suffered injuries (nothing makes athletes seem more like machines and not humans than when we collectively complain when one of them suffers a potentially life-altering head injury because it RUINS OUR FANTASY TEAMS).

With six teams on byes, the available player pool was smaller than normal, which means any injury problem was intensified because it affected more people (fewer available teams means more similar players). While some players suffered injuries and ultimately returned to their games, fantasy managers were left holding their breath, or cursing underneath it, when guys like Spencer Ware (concussion), Will Fuller (leg), Alex Smith (concussion), Charles Clay (shoulder), T.Y. Hilton (hamstring), DeSean Jackson (concussion), Devontae Booker (shoulder), Jacquizz Rodgers (foot) and Jacob Tamme (shoulder) left their respective games, either temporarily or for good, due to injuries. Making matters worse, plenty of fantasy managers were banking on guys like Ty Montgomery (illness) or Randall Cobb (hamstring) to play, but they were ultimately ruled inactive ahead of the late afternoon slate, forcing changes in DFS lineups (if they could) or potentially looking at zeros.

But no matter how bad you thought your day was, there was probably someone who had team like this:

QB: Alex Smith - 127 yards and one touchdown
RB: Spencer Ware - seven carries for 19 yards
RB: Mark Ingram - three carries for five yards (benched after fumbling)
WR: T.Y. Hilton - one catch for 20 yards
WR: Will Fuller - one catch for 23 yards
WR: DeSean Jackson - three catches for 48 yards
TE: Jacob Tamme - two catches for 19 yards

OK, now that we're done complaining about injuries (at least for a few hours), let's appreciate what may be the most surprising story of the season: the Oakland Raiders are 6-2-0, including a perfect 5-0-0 on the road, joining the Patriots and Cowboys as the only undefeated teams away from home.

Quarterback Derek Carr hasn't been solely responsible for their success, but boy did he play a huge part Sunday against the Buccaneers, completing 40 of 59 (!) passes for 513 (!) yards and four touchdowns. It was Carr's second four-touchdown game of the year (he did it in Week 4 at Baltimore but threw for only 199 yards), and it was the second 500-yard game in the NFL this season (Matt Ryan had 503 yards and four touchdowns in Week 4 against Carolina). He also joined Ben Roethlisberger and Y.A. Tittle as the only players in NFL history to throw for at least 500 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

Carr was already having a great game, but it was capped off in dramatic fashion when Seth Roberts broke two tackles to score a 41-yard touchdown with 1:45 left in overtime to give the Raiders a dramatic 30-24 win.

Washington and Cincinnati each had opportunities to win the game, but failed kicking attempts ultimately doomed the English fans to a tie (hey, at least they're used to it, right?). The Bengals' Mike Nugent missed a 51-yard field goal in the second quarter and then missed an extra point after a Tyler Eifert touchdown reception in the third. While those points theoretically would have given the Bengals a win in regulation, it was Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins who will be given the most grief, as his 40-yard field goal to tie the game at 27 with just over one minute left in regulation will be overlooked by his 34-yard miss with 2:13 left in overtime. With neither team able to move the ball effectively after that, we were left with two teams all square and no time left to play.

Nugent and Hopkins weren't the only kickers who struggled Sunday, as San Diego's Josh Lambo missed his lone field-goal opportunity and an extra point, while Tampa Bay's Roberto Aguayo missed TWO extra points against the Raiders. Additionally, Sebastian Janikowski was only one of three on his three-point attempts. The NFL extended the extra point distance to ensure that PATs were not automatic and they seem to have fully achieved that goal. I still don't know if that means the game is better.

Also, if you're really interested in ties and kickers, we have a great soccer section here.