Remember that scene in The Dark Knight Rises where the villain, Bane, blows up most of the Heinz Field playing surface and Hines Ward turns around after his kickoff return for a touchdown to find he’s the only player left standing?
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Football is a risky game in which injuries are always part of the equation.
The Packers pumped their lead to 19-9 when Mason Crosby kicked a 55-yard field goal in the third quarter. However, the absence of Nelson looms largest, as it affects not only Green Bay’s title run, but also the fortunes of the rest of the conference.
“I think that it’s disappointing that you have injuries like this one in the preseason”.
The Green Bay Packers, one of the preseason Super Bowl favorites, appear to have lost No. 1 wideout Jordy Nelson for the entire year to a torn ACL. Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix rolled into the back of his leg. He missed the rest of the 2013 season after teammate David DeCastro dove into a play and hit him. There’s still a chance that Pouncey could return midway through the season anyway, so if he’s back for a playoff push, that will be a win for the Steelers.
Few things are harder for an NFL franchise to swallow than the occurrence of a potentially season-changing injury during a meaningless preseason game.
It’s hard not to read in to Rodgers’ postgame demeanor a little bit, but some of his answers were pretty short and he did not look happy. Injuries come with the game.
Now that we have that misnomer out of the way, you should know that the Steelers really only have two options with Pouncey moving forward.
We have our first cataclysmic, plate tectonic shifting, season-ending injury.
Another player possibly getting an increased role is TE Richard Rodgers.
Pittsburgh starter Ben Roethlisberger was 10-for-14 for 100 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. I’ll put both of them in the 400-500 yard range with about four touchdowns each. Pouncey had originally been placed on the team’s PUP list early in camp because of a foot injury.
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Rookie Marcus Mariota, who started for the Titans, completed 5 of 8 passes for 59, but managed just three points in the three possessions he played. But Lacy provides a vital outlet whenever Rodgers’ receivers falter, and rest assured, there will be Sundays when that happens. And the injured David Bakhtiari’s replacement on the blind side, Don Barclay, got swamped over in the end zone. The Steelers moved inside the 10-yard line after a roughing-the-passer penalty on Packers LB Jermauria Rasco and then took a knee. Nelson certainly provides a deep threat that no one else in Green Bay can reliably replicate, but the sheer number of talented offensive weapons – the Packers’ roster includes five healthy top-100 picks at the skill positions – suggest that the team can adapt to life without him.
