2022 NFL season · final

Injury luck, 2022: who lost the most to injuries

The Rams lost the most to injuries in 2022: key players missed 111 games, worth 83.9 points, most of all Matthew Stafford (QB, 7 games). The Chiefs lost the least, 9.6 points. Net of their opponents’ injuries, the Titans were the unluckiest (−0.73 wins).

Every regular-season game, the engine checks which key players each team was missing before kickoff (a key player: half the snaps or more over his previous eight games) and values them by position, quality and playing time. Losing players is luck; so is facing a team that’s missing its own. Unlike a fumble bounce, it lasts: an injured player is out for weeks. Methodology

Injuries by team, 2022

#	Team	Key-player games missed	Value lost, points	Opponents missing, points	Injury luck in wins	Biggest absences
1	Rams	111	83.9	42.8	−0.65	Matthew Stafford (QB, 7 games), Cooper Kupp (WR, 7 games)
2	Cardinals	96	82.6	45.3	−0.63	Kyler Murray (QB, 6 games), Byron Murphy (CB, 7 games)
3	Titans	92	71.9	28.8	−0.73	Ryan Tannehill (QB, 5 games), Taylor Lewan (T, 6 games)
4	Broncos	109	57.9	39.6	−0.34	Russell Wilson (QB, 2 games), Garett Bolles (T, 7 games)
5	49ers	55	54.9	48.5	−0.25	Jimmy Garoppolo (QB, 5 games), Emmanuel Moseley (CB, 7 games)
6	Dolphins	59	53.8	24.8	−0.59	Tua Tagovailoa (QB, 3 games), Byron Jones (CB, 7 games)
7	Cowboys	55	52.1	37.7	−0.41	Dak Prescott (QB, 5 games), Tyron Smith (T, 6 games)
8	Saints	81	51.5	29.8	−0.45	Michael Thomas (WR, 7 games), Marshon Lattimore (CB, 7 games)
9	Ravens	53	49.7	25.1	−0.49	Lamar Jackson (QB, 5 games), Marcus Peters (CB, 3 games)
10	Colts	51	40.0	23.5	−0.33	Matt Ryan (QB, 4 games), Shaquille Leonard (LB, 6 games)
11	Raiders	71	39.5	38.1	0.00	Derek Carr (QB, 2 games), Nate Hobbs (CB, 6 games)
12	Giants	85	38.5	30.7	−0.08	Xavier McKinney (FS, 7 games), Adoree' Jackson (CB, 7 games)
13	Jets	70	35.3	38.4	+0.07	Mike White (QB, 3 games), George Fant (T, 8 games)
14	Falcons	57	35.2	44.6	+0.16	Marcus Mariota (QB, 4 games), Kyle Pitts (TE, 7 games)
15	Chargers	62	34.8	37.5	+0.05	Rashawn Slater (T, 7 games), Keenan Allen (WR, 5 games)
16	Patriots	57	33.8	43.3	+0.24	Mac Jones (QB, 3 games), Jalen Mills (CB, 7 games)
17	Buccaneers	61	32.5	47.8	+0.23	Tristan Wirfs (T, 3 games), Donovan Smith (T, 4 games)
18	Bears	59	31.9	24.7	−0.12	Jaylon Johnson (CB, 6 games), Darnell Mooney (WR, 5 games)
19	Panthers	42	30.7	26.6	+0.01	Baker Mayfield (QB, 2 games), Jeremy Chinn (FS, 6 games)
20	Bills	54	29.0	25.8	−0.06	Micah Hyde (FS, 7 games), Christian Benford (CB, 5 games)
21	Texans	51	26.4	41.2	+0.37	Nico Collins (WR, 7 games), Jonathan Greenard (DE, 7 games)
22	Commanders	63	25.3	37.7	+0.26	Chase Roullier (C, 7 games), Samuel Cosmi (T, 4 games)
23	Bengals	42	23.6	42.3	+0.31	Ja'Marr Chase (WR, 4 games), Chidobe Awuzie (CB, 7 games)
24	Browns	51	22.4	29.7	+0.16	Jadeveon Clowney (DE, 5 games), Denzel Ward (CB, 3 games)
25	Packers	43	22.3	35.7	+0.21	David Bakhtiari (T, 4 games), Romeo Doubs (WR, 4 games)
26	Lions	62	20.5	26.6	+0.14	Tracy Walker (FS, 7 games), Ifeatu Melifonwu (CB, 5 games)
27	Steelers	35	16.9	41.3	+0.54	T.J. Watt (LB, 7 games), Ahkello Witherspoon (CB, 7 games)
28	Vikings	33	16.1	31.6	+0.31	Garrett Bradbury (C, 5 games), Cameron Dantzler (CB, 5 games)
29	Eagles	28	15.5	37.3	+0.33	Dallas Goedert (TE, 5 games), Avonte Maddox (CB, 8 games)
30	Jaguars	27	13.2	36.7	+0.47	Shaquill Griffin (CB, 8 games), Cam Robinson (T, 3 games)
31	Seahawks	34	11.1	48.3	+0.73	Jake Curhan (T, 3 games), Ryan Neal (SS, 3 games)
32	Chiefs	21	9.6	50.5	+0.54	Mecole Hardman (WR, 5 games), Harrison Butker (K, 4 games)

Value lost: the points of play the missing players were worth, summed over games. Injury luck in wins: each game’s injury gap in win probability, the opponent’s missing players counted in the team’s favor. Snap counts arrive a few days after a game, so the latest games may not count yet.

Questions

What was the most injured NFL team in 2022?

The Rams, by what their missing players were worth: 111 games missed by key players, 83.9 points of play in all. A key player is one who played at least half the snaps over his previous eight games.

How are injuries valued?

Each missing key player costs his position’s value, scaled by how good he is against a typical starter and how much he played. A quarterback is valued as the drop from the starter to the one who played instead, from their passing. The same loss counts in the opponent’s favor.

Are injuries luck?

Mostly. Which team loses players barely carries over from one season to the next: 0.08 over 192 team-seasons since 2019. Within a season it does, because an injured player is out for weeks, so injury luck doesn’t even out the way a fumble bounce does.

Other seasons: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019

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