The easy thing to do would be to look at the Buccaneers and sneer at the new playoff format and 17-game gantlet every player just had to endure. And to be sure, it’s definitely worth approaching this topic, in general, given the NFL’s track record, with skepticism.
But as I dived into the impact of all the extra games being played the last two years, and whether it’s good for football, much less football players, one team doctor cautioned me not to make leaps based on what we all watched in Tampa last Sunday. Because, really, no amount of rest was going to prevent either of the big injuries the Bucs sustained.
All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs was first to go down, hurt on the fourth play of Sunday’s game against the Eagles. He got caught underneath Javon Hargrave, who rolled up on Wirfs while diving to bring down Bucs tailback Ke’Shawn Vaughn. And by the end of the first quarter, Bucs center Ryan Jensen was injured, too, his injury coming on the goal line, when Eagles defensive lineman Milton Williams knocked Tampa Bay left tackle Donovan Smith into the back of his leg, sending Jensen backward to the ground with a turned ankle.
