An onslaught of injuries sidelined a slew of NFL stars Sunday.
Among the affected teams were two of the New England Patriots’ upcoming opponents: the Denver Broncos (Week 5) and San Francisco 49ers (Week 7).
We’ll begin with the Niners, who were hit particularly hard during their 31-13 road win over the New York Jets.
San Francisco lost superstar defensive end Nick Bosa to what head coach Kyle Shanahan believed was a torn ACL, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas to a potentially serious knee injury, running back Raheem Mostert to an MCL sprain and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a high ankle sprain.
Bosa is the most significant loss for the 49ers, but Garoppolo is the biggest name on that list from a Patriots perspective.
Garoppolo has not faced his former team since New England traded him to San Francisco in 2017. Matt Barrows of The Athletic speculated the QB could miss the next four to six weeks, putting his status for the 49ers’ Oct. 25 visit to Gillette Stadium in doubt.
Nick Mullens is the next man up for San Francisco. Shanahan confirmed he’ll start behind center next week against the New York Giants.
It’s been a painful start to the season for the defending NFC champs. Tight end George Kittle, cornerback Richard Sherman and wide receiver Deebo Samuel all were inactive for Sunday’s game with injuries.
The Broncos also could be without their starting quarterback when they head to Foxboro, Mass., in three weeks.
Drew Lock exited his team’s 26-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a shoulder injury and is expected to miss the next two to six weeks, according to reports from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Legwold.
Denver backup Jeff Driskel, a former Boston Red Sox draft pick, completed 18 of 34 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in a failed comeback bid.
Driskel, who took six sacks in the game, is 1-7 in eight career starts.
The Patriots will look to improve to 2-0 when they visit the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night.
Thumbnail photo via Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports Images
