Analysis: Injuries already piling up, forcing teams to turn to the next man up

On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. For more On Football analysis, head here.

The next man up sees plenty of action in the NFL.

Injuries already are accruing across the league, knocking out several star players and forcing teams to turn to backups and reserves.

Everyone has to be ready because “one play away” is more reality than a cliche in football. The best teams at the end of the season often are the ones who have the depth to overcome injuries early on.

The inactives read like a Pro Bowl roster.

Russell Wilson hasn’t made his debut for Pittsburgh because of a calf injury sustained in the preseason. Jordan Love went down with a knee injury in Green Bay’s season opener. Miami lost Tua Tagovailoa for at least four games and possibly longer after he suffered his fourth concussion in five years last week.

Those are just the starting quarterbacks on the sideline.

Reigning NFC champion San Francisco keeps losing playmakers. Already missing running back Christian McCaffrey because of Achilles tendinitis, the 49ers won’t have wide receiver Deebo Samuel this weekend due to a calf injury. All-Pro tight end George Kittle missed practice Thursday with a sore hamstring and his status for Sunday is uncertain.

That may limit what coach Kyle Shanahan calls on offense.

“We still have the same amount of plays, just somewhat different styles of plays, different people in different spots,” he said. “You eliminate some special things that you would only do for those guys, but the number doesn’t change. Just, there’s things those guys do very well. Nothing other guys can’t do. But there’s kind of different percentages on how much you call them and things like that.”

Brock Purdy still has Brandon Aiyuk as a go-to receiver and Jordan Mason has 247 yards rushing and two touchdowns filling in for McCaffrey.

“Obviously it sucks not having your guys like Deebo and Christian and stuff, so it’s like, all right, how can we figure out to get the ball to other guys,” Purdy said. “But man, we’ve got playmakers. We’ve got a really good scheme, great play caller and some great players that step up in the roles and do their job really well. So for me, I still have to do my job, in terms of my reads and my progressions, more so than I need to now change the way I think and make sure I’m getting it to this guy or that guy because a couple guys are out. It’s not like that.”

The 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams, a team that’s also depleted. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp has an ankle injury and Puka Nacua is on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Matthew Stafford not only is missing his two top targets but he’s playing behind a banged up offensive line. Guard Steve Avila (knee) and tackle Joe Noteboom (ankle) are on IR.

“There are a lot of different moving parts but our job is to be able to figure it out all right, how do we move forward? How do we represent the things that we want to represent?” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I like the way the guys have come in here with a good look in their eye and we have to have a great week of preparation.”

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs lost running back Isiah Pacheco indefinitely. Pacheco had surgery this week after breaking his fibula.

The Bengals were missing wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) the first two games and he’s questionable this week. Eagles wideout A.J. Brown (calf) is doubtful this week after missing one game and Bears wideout Keenan Allen (heel) is questionable. Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson (quadriceps) is also battling an injury.

Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle) is questionable, though it seems he escaped a more serious injury after what he thought was a hip-drop tackle that wasn’t called against the Bears.

There are plenty of talented defensive players out, too. Bills linebacker Matt Milano, Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown and Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland are on injured reserve.

Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore is aiming to return this week after missing one game.

The Buccaneers were missing defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield last week when nose tackle Vita Vea sustained a sprained knee ligament in a win at Detroit.

“Everybody that made our roster was asked that, ‘You have to be able to do your job. When your number is called, be ready to go,’” Buccaneers defensive assistant coach Kacy Rogers said. “And that’s kind of worked out for us because we’ve had a lot of guys step up when guys went down and we’ve had guys (go) from one position to another position. It’s just kind of worked out that guys were ready when their numbers (were) called.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey walks on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel talks to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) as he leaves the game after suffering a concussion during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Analysis: Injuries already piling up, forcing teams to turn to the next man up

Analysis: Injuries already piling up, forcing teams to turn to the next man up

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) in helped off the field after getting hurt during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)

BEIRUT (AP) — Chris Knayzeh was in a town overlooking Lebanon's capital when he heard the rumbling aftershock of the 2020 Beirut port blast. Hundreds of tons of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrates had exploded, killing more than 200 people and injuring thousands.

Already struggling with the country’s economic collapse, the sight of the gigantic mushroom cloud unleashed by the blast was the last straw. Like many other Lebanese, he quit his job and booked a one-way ticket out of Lebanon.

Knayzeh, now a lecturer at a university in France, was visiting Lebanon when news broke Tuesday of a deadly attack in which thousands of handheld pagers were blowing up in homes, shops, markets and streets across the country. Israel, local news reports said, was targeting the devices of the militant Hezbollah group. Stuck in Beirut traffic, Knayzeh started panicking that drivers around him could potentially be carrying devices that would explode.

Within minutes, hospitals were flooded with bloodied patients, bringing back painful reminders of the port blast four years ago that left enduring mental and psychological scars for those who lived through it.

A day later, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and injured more than 3,000. Israel is widely believed to be behind the blasts, although it has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

“The country's state is unreal,” Knayzeh told The Associated Press.

The port blast was one of the biggest nonnuclear explosions ever recorded, and it came on top of a historic economic meltdown, financial collapse and a feeling of helplessness after nationwide protests against corruption that failed to achieve their goals. It compounded years of crises that have upended the lives of people in this small country.

Four years after the port catastrophe, an investigation has run aground. The ravaged Mediterranean port remains untouched, its towering silos standing broken and shredded as a symbol of a country in ruins. Political divisions and paralysis have left the country without a president or functioning government for more than two years. Poverty is on the rise.

On top of that and in parallel with the war in Gaza, Lebanon has been on the brink of all-out war with Israel for the past year, with Israel and Hezbollah trading fire across the border and Israeli warplanes breaking the sound barrier over Beirut almost daily, terrifying people in their homes and offices.

“I can’t believe this is happening again. How many more disasters can we endure?” asked Jocelyn Hallak, a mother of three, two of whom now work abroad and the third headed out after graduation next year. “All this pain, when will it end?”

A full-blown war with Israel could be devastating for Lebanon. The country’s crisis-battered health care system had been preparing for the possibility of conflict with Israel even before hospitals became inundated with the wounded from the latest explosions. Most of the injuries received were in the face, eyes and limbs — many of them in critical condition and requiring extended hospital stays.

Still, Knayzeh, 27, can't stay away. He returns regularly to see his girlfriend and family. He flinches whenever he hears construction work and other sudden loud sounds. When in France, surrounded by normalcy, he agonizes over family at home while following the ongoing clashes from afar.

“It’s the attachment to our country I guess, or at the very least attachment to our loved ones who couldn’t leave with us,” he said.

This summer, tens of thousands of Lebanese expatriates came to visit family and friends despite the tensions. Their remittances and money they spend while there help keep the country afloat and in some cases are the main source of income for families. Many, however, cut their vacations short in chaotic airport scenes, fearing major escalation after the assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas commanders in Beirut and Tehran last month, blamed on Israel.

Even in a country that has vaulted from one crisis to another for decades, the level of confusion, insecurity and anger is reaching new heights. Many thought the port blast was the most surreal and frightening thing they would ever experience — until thousands of pagers exploded in people’s hands and pockets across the country this week.

’’I saw horrific things that day,” said Mohammad al-Mousawi, who was running an errand in Beirut’s southern suburb, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, when the pagers began blowing up.

“Suddenly, we started seeing scooters whizzing by carrying defaced men, some without fingers, some with their guts spilling out. Then the ambulances started coming."

It reminded him of the 2020 port blast, he said. "The number of injuries and ambulances was unbelievable. “

“One more horror shaping our collective existence,” wrote Maha Yahya, the Beirut-based director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.

“The shock, the disarray, the trauma is reminiscent of Beirut after the port explosion. Only this time it was not limited to a city but spread across the country,” she said in a social media post.

In the aftermath of the exploding pagers, fear and paranoia has taken hold. Parents kept their children away from schools and universities, fearing more exploding devices. Organizations including the Lebanese civil defense advised personnel to switch off their devices and remove all batteries until further notice. One woman said she disconnected her baby monitor and other household appliances.

Lebanon’s civil aviation authorities have banned the transporting of pagers and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport “until further notice.” Some residents were sleeping with their phones in another room.

In the southern city of Tyre, ahead of a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, city resident Hassan Hajo acknowledged feeling “a bit depressed” after the pager blasts, a major security breach for a secretive organization like Hezbollah. He was hoping to get a boost from Nasrallah’s speech. “We have been through worse before and we got through it,” he said.

In his speech, Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for the attacks on devices, while Israel and Hezbollah traded heavy fire across the border. Israel stepped up warnings of a potential larger military operation targeting the group.

Another resident, Marwan Mahfouz, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening Lebanon with war for the past year and he should just do it.

“If we are going to die, we’ll die. We are already dying. We are already dead,” he said.

Karam reported from London. Associated Press writer Hassan Ammar contributed to this report.

FILE - People remove debris from a house damaged by a massive explosion in the seaport of Beirut, on Aug. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - A survivor is taken out of the rubble after a massive explosion in Beirut, on Aug. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

FILE - A police officer speaks with a protesting depositor as they stand in front of burning tires set on fire in front of a branch of Emirates Lebanese Bank in Dawra, a suburb north-east of Beirut, on Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE - A protester holds up a Lebanese national flag as he walks in front of burning tires that are blocking a main road, during a protest in downtown Beirut, on March 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

Hezbollah members carry the coffins of two of their comrades who were killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during a funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

FILE - An anti-government protester flashes the victory sign amid tear gas fired by riot police during a protest marking the first anniversary of the massive blast at Beirut's port, near Parliament Square, in Beirut, on Aug. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE - An Israeli reconnaissance drone flies over the funeral procession of four Hezbollah fighters who were killed Tuesday after their handheld devices exploded in the southern suburb of Beirut, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

A man mourns during the funeral procession of two Hezbollah members, killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

FILE - A drone picture shows the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - Police officers inspect a car inside of which a hand-held pager exploded, Beirut, on Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - A Civil Defense first-responder carries a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, on Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - Hezbollah fighters carry one of the coffins of four fallen comrades who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE - Smoke rises after a massive explosion at the port in Beirut, on Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)