Lamar Miller and the NFL’s most impactful injuries for Week 8

It’s almost the halfway point of the NFL season. Many players have already been ruled out this week as the rigors of the 16-game season wear on.

A group of notable running backs will be absent from Sunday’s action. Jamaal Charles, Doug Martin, Matt Jones, and Tevin Coleman will all be out Sunday with their respective injuries.

Washington had a total of 10 players limited in practice and questionable for Sunday, which is less than convenient when preparing to play in London.

Here’s the most impactful injuries heading into Week 8.

1) Josh Norman vs. Bengals

Norman’s injury in Week 7 was kinda strange. It appeared that he had gotten his shoulder smushed between Marvin Jones and the field, but it turns out he suffered a concussion.

Washington’s pass defense is in the middle of the pack of the league at No. 17, and the loss of Norman certainly wouldn’t help their case. He traveled with the team to London, so that should be a good sign for Washington heading into Sunday. To have him available to cover A.J. Green would be huge for Washington.

Status: Played and battled all game against Green.

2) LeSean McCoy vs. Patriots

The Bills really need McCoy. He’s been playing out of his mind since the team fired Greg Roman and promoted Anthony Lynn to offensive coordinator. He went off against the 49ers with three touchdowns and 140 yards, but tweaked his hamstring, which limited him last week.

Pushing it last week has likely put him out for this week, and the Bills will rely on Mike Gillislee, who has averaged 6.2 yards per carry on the year, and looked improved, like McCoy, under Lynn.

Status: Out

3) Aqib Talib and Brandon Marshall vs. Chargers

If we would have put together this list a few weeks ago, these injuries may not have been viewed as significant as they are now. The Chargers are now actually one of the more interesting teams in the NFL, and are just two weeks removed from having beaten the Broncos on Thursday night.

Talib returned to practice on Friday, after a back injury kept him out early in the week. As far as Marshall goes, he’s been having hamstring issues, and was limited in practice on Friday.

Status: Talib and Marshall are both out.

4) Lamar Miller vs. Lions

The Houston Texans need all the help they can get on offense. Losing Miller would be a pretty significant loss, especially with the way Brock Osweiler has been playing. His historically bad Monday night performance against the Denver Broncos only helped Miller’s stock in the Texans’ offense.

ESPN’s Field Yates reported Friday afternoon that Miller would be a game time decision for the Texans. Going up against the Lions, who have been pretty good offensively this year, the Texans will surely make a push to have Miller in pads on Sunday.

Status: Active, and rushed 17 times for 56 yards and a touchdown.

5) Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett vs. Saints

The Seahawks are coming off of a Sunday night performance against the Cardinals that resulted in a tie. They’re hoping for a stronger performance this week against the Saints, but that might be troublesome with Chancellor and Bennett’s injury battle.

Chancellor has been dealing with a nagging groin injury, and Bennett’s been nursing a knee injury. The two are expected to miss Sunday’s game, but the Seahawks will hope that the rest of their defense can carry the extra weight on the road against the offense that’s 2nd in the league in total yards per game.

Status: Out

6) Martellus Bennett vs. Bills

The Patriots are seeking revenge on the Bills this week, after being handed their first loss at Gillette Stadium earlier this season. They have a handful of injuries this week, including Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell, but Bennett’s status is very much in question.

Bennett was the lone Patriot to not practice Friday. The team has proven all year that they can make things work even without their best players, but Bennett brings another big threat to the offense, and really opens things up for Rob Gronkowski.

But as always, the Patriots will manage one way or another.

Status: Active and caught four passes for 35 yards.

7) Clay Matthews and Randall Cobb vs. Falcons

The Packers have a tough game ahead of them Sunday on the road in Atlanta. The Georgia Dome isn’t an easy place to play when the Falcons are good, and the Packers need a win to keep up with the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North.

A big part of what the Packers do involves both Matthews and Cobb. Matthews has a hamstring injury that has slowly progressed this week, and Cobb has also been limited in his action in practice.

Status: Matthews and Cobb are both out.

8) Jerick McKinnon vs. Bears

McKinnon didn’t practice on Friday, and that’s not great news for the Vikings. If McKinnon is going to miss a week, this is probably the one to do it. The Vikings are taking on the Bears, who seem to be a total mess right now. Defensively, they’re 12th in the league, but on offense, well, they’ve seen better days.

The Vikings still have Matt Asiata in the backfield, but the combination of the two backs has been a big help in Adrian Peterson’s absence. It’s also helped take a load off of Sam Bradford’s shoulders, who has otherwise done well in replacing Teddy Bridgewater.

McKinnon would be a significant loss, but against the Bears, the Vikings should be able to make things work.

Stats: Out

9) Travis Benjamin vs. Broncos

The Chargers are going for a third consecutive win on Sunday when they face their divisional foe. Benjamin dealt with a knee injury last week but was good to go against the Falcons, and has been limited in practice all week with the same injury.

Benjamin was decent against the Falcons, with four catches for 54 yards. On the season, Benjamin has 35 receptions for 465 yards and two touchdowns. He’s listed as questionable, but the Chargers expect him to play with no limitations, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Status: Active.

10) Nick Mangold vs. Browns

Mangold was questionable last week as well with a knee injury, but was able to play. While that was great for the Jets, he ended up leaving the game with an ankle injury, that now has his status in question for this week.

The Jets are already pretty shorthanded and looking like a huge mess. They could be a bigger mess than the Cleveland Browns, which is saying a lot! Having Mangold around to protect Ryan Fitzpatrick would be pretty valuable in what has been a dud of a season.

Status: Out