The 2020 NFL Week 9 Roundup | Rib-o-cratic Oath
Take Two and Call Me in the Morning
[Editor’s Note: This week’s Headline Story is part of a two-week miniseries look into on-site medical care administered by NFL/Team-employed medical professionals and the murky tension of this implied Doctor-Patient dynamic]
Thoracic surgeons would consider you a lucky person to have enjoyed a fulfilling existence by virtue of having never experienced a broken rib. Consistent with your runaway imagination, broken ribs can be grossly debilitating and searingly painful affairs you’d rather just as soon forget. The pain that typically accompanies a broken rib presents as steady-state moderate made more acute with every passing breath, coughing fit, bought of side-splitting laughter, twisting of the torso and quite naturally, applied pressure at the site of the fracture. Due to the complex juncture of the musculature, vascularity, rib cage, fork-tender nerve endings and proximity to mission critical organs including the heart and lungs, broken ribs are — barring further complications — left to their own accord to heal. In extreme circumstances, metal plates can be fused to the affected ribs to buttress and better facilitate proper healing. But in the vast majority of cases, a six week non-intervention course is prescribed to patients. This course of treatment can be brutal. The pain and pressure of sleeping horizontally can be so unbearable as to cause insomnia so it’s recommended you sleep upright in a chair. When awake, no sudden movements, shallow breaths and NEVER suppressing coughs (productive coughing helps to ward off pneumonia). To lessen discomfort, doctors suggest coughing while hugging your favorite cushiony pillow. So in short just a delightful month and a half of contorted couch potato-dom showered in hours upon days upon weeks of that endless vapid Netflix carousel and along with it endless subliminal questioning of the state of your decision-making as a full-grown adult.
This pretext is required reading to understand the consummate athlete and professional that IS Tyrod Taylor. Tyrod is a season NFL veteran who has seen his fair share of staggering ups and downs and has seen starts, the sideline — and crushing setbacks — with the likes of the VA Tech Hokies, Ravens, Buffalo, CLE and most recently the Chargers. It was last year in LA that a renaissance was supposed to take root. Freshly outfitted with a two-year $11M contract as a backup QB to journeyman Philip Rivers and reunited with mentor and Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn, Tyrod saw green shoots sprouting anew everywhere his trained eye could see. The 2019 Chargers finished dead last (5–11) in a grizzled AFC West, Philip Rivers continued his journeyman-like tendencies in hitching a ride to Indy, and after a Covid-shortened pre-season Tyrod was announced as the Team’s starting QB as the 2020 Season lifted off. The stage was set and Tyrod proudly took on the mantle of leading his Chargers out from under the weighty shadow of their glitzy Sofi Stadium co-tenants, the Rams.
Tyrod was sacked twice while propelling his Chargers to a Week 1 WIN against the Bengals and rookie #1 Draft Pick Joe Burrow and it’s now believed that one of those two sacks caused not one but TWO fractured ribs in an instant. In reviewing footage of each collision, you’d be hard-pressed to tell that anything was amiss.
Tyrod knew but it was his secret and his alone. He soldiered on as his teammates and Coaching staff celebrated in elation at a much-needed second chance at standing before the altar of rebirth. Invisibly wincing in pain and suffering in stone-cold silence, Tyrod pushed through bone-jarringly painful practices the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It wasn’t until Thursday when Head Coach Anthony Lynn pieced things together. Exceedingly familiar with Tyrod’s fluid dynamics since their days together in Buffalo, it was almost imperceptible at first but then once compiled it couldn’t be unseen; what was once routinely machined had devolved into staccatoed abbreviation. So Anthony approached Tyrod and asked him how he was injured. Surprised and relieved at not having to play pretend anymore, Tyrod confessed to slight chest soreness well aware of the ramifications that lie ahead as a 31 year old IR veteran in a league awash in spry 20-sometings . Anthony immediately summoned team physicians who after examining Tyrod ordered an MRI which confirmed their worst fears; TWO mid-rib cage fractures. Clearly aware of Tyrod’s astonishingly high pain tolerance, Team physicians ordered absolute rest and mild pain medicines.
Sunday arrived and with it a much-anticipated matchup with the Chiefs at Sofi. Pre-game, Tyrod was still listed as starting QB but he was STILL mired in intense rib pain. Team physicians consulted among themselves and outlined potential courses of treatment. The most promising — to what outcome and to whose benefit unknown — was a “simple” procedure that called for injecting liquid pain reliever directly into the nerves surrounding Tyrod’s fractures. It wasn’t a trivial procedure and it certainly wasn’t free of risk but it would allow for him to play as comfortably as possible through his racing discomfort. After fully disclosing all the risks and Tyrod bent on delivering KC their first lost off their nascent season, Chargers physicians prepped for the procedure. Termed a Therapeutic Nerve Block, it’s a relatively routine process where a hypodermic needle is injected into the throbbing inter-costal nerve bridging the rib fracture bathing it in a pool of soothing Lidocaine. But the precise location of these nerves is within millimeters of outright danger. Doctors chose a “blind” Therapeutic Nerve Block because precise ultrasonic imaging equipment is furnished in hospitals, not sports stadiums even state-of-the-art ones. This blind method is just what you’d think, guided by a doctor’s touch, feel and intuition. Normally, a Doctor’s knowledge of anatomy and the feel of the tissue, cartilage and bone can pinpoint where to deliver relief. In this case, the Doctor pushed 2 millimeters too far and ended up puncturing Tyrod’s lung. A punctured lung is not as you’d think a balloon pops. It’s much more grievous where air sacs in your lungs (alveoli) are pierced and the air you breath is not exhaled out of your body. Instead it is exhausted into your chest cavity creating an internal air pocket depressing your lung’s ability to inflate with every passing breath. Hence the term, collapsed lung; it’s literally being compressed by air expelled out of the lung in a small confined space. IN major cases, the lung can be compressed into the size of a tennis ball. The administering physical knew they had an immediate problem on their hands when Tyrod complained of belabored breathing and shortness or breath worsening as the seconds ticked by. It’s unknown to this day how doctor’s rescued Tyrod from an unthinkable fate. I’ll put it this way, there are only two known fixes when doctors find themselves with a patient with a punctured lung: One involving another precisely placed needle to remove the ever-expanding air pocket restoring negative pressure and the other involving s surgically-placed exhaust tube relieving the lung cavity of building constraint. Both are as blisteringly painful as the underlying rib fractures this Therapeutic Nerve Block was employed to numb in the first place.
I’ve taken you on this journey to ascribe the lengths players reach to be present for their Teams, push themselves to shiny greatness and burnish their reputations as unrelenting warriors. The FANTASTIC news out of Los Angeles is that Tyrod is resting comfortably at home and is well on the mend. In six weeks time he’ll have crippled that tired Netflix carousel, coughed painfully into his Sealy Quilted Feather pillow and will possess twin time and calcium fortified ribs to show for it. And blessedly the way his contract is structured, Tyrod will be paid every cent of his $11M contract once this Season concludes, presuming he doesn’t get cut from the Team. Standard NFL legal boilerplate forestall malpractice lawsuits actioned against Team physicians leaving little more than Workman’s Comp as a feeble vehicle for redress. Further, What next Season looks like for Tyrod as a free agent is anyone’s guess now that rookie Justin Herbert is making noise as LAC’s new starting QB. But the NFLPA has announced a full-fledged investigation into what has ballooned into a combustible spotlight on the physicians in the NFL’s employ and the cross-purposes to which they serve. Little is known about who administered Tyrod’s procedure and who with the Team was aware because the Chargers offer no comment and HIPAA privacy in equal measure as answer-shields to this ordeal. Nevertheless, It an uneasy dynamic that Tyrod has dramatically brought to the surface; a dynamic that has long been rushed backstage in years past. It’s a shame because player livelihoods and health hang in the balance. How much sacrifice is a bridge too far? And the Hippocratic Oath that NFL physician swear allegiance to: It’s pledged to whom? The NFL or the players in their care? No answers here today. Just the pained plight of a 31 year old athlete exhibiting the sportsmanship of Hermes, the humility of Aidos and the patience of Perseus. Now if only his ribs got that memo.
Turning now to the NFL 2020 Season at the age of Week 9, Tyrod’s Chargers are in worse shape than when he left them in Week 2. But not for lack of trying. Upstart rookie QB Justin Herbert continues to pleasantly defy expectations with another dominating performance (28/42 326 yds 2 TDs) but the Team’s secondary let slip away yet another early lead, an alarming trend for them this Season. The Vegas propulsive Defense was enough to snuff out any signs of bright light coming from LAC’s offense. The Raiders Win, 31–26 and the Chargers slide to 2–6 on the Season. Over in Glendale, The Fins visited the Cards and the MIA fans got to see more of the promised Tua Tagovailo show; a show that did NOT disappoint. After last week’s slow start, Tua blasted into his second week as starting QB with poise, polish and flexibility. He admirably threw 20/28 248 2TDs and a WIN, 34–31. Arizona for their part put up a valiant thrilling fight where they almosssst pulled of a come-from-behind upset. Almost. QB Kyler Murray has feathered for himself a nice little nest in his second year; a nest that now includes a rushing game (106 yards) as profligate as his passing one (21/26 283 yds 3TDs). The Arizona renaissance is real, perhaps the one in Miami might be as well. Fitzpatrick who again? Down in Tampa Bay, while CNN’s Electoral Map colors the Sunshine State Red, the faces of Bucs fans are equally rudden in embarrassment with the stinker of a game put forth by Tom Brady and Team against NOLA, 3–38. Tom’s worst ever start coupled with and equally rotten Defense had all the trappings of disaster and then some. Not even the intriguing addition of Antonio Brown could do much to prevent their self-inflicted cannon balls from punching gaping holes in their own Tall Ship hull. Drew Brees and the Saints cruise effortlessly forward with an ever-building 6–2 record.
Up in Orchard Park, The Bills chose the opportune moment to exploit the NFL’S worst kept secret in Seattle’s foolhardy Defense. For whatever the Russell Wilson-led sterling Offense abundantly giveth, his secondary squanderingly giveth and giveth away by the boatload. SEA gave up 44 points, the most of any Pete Carroll start, and with each one cosmetically denting ever so slightly their still winning 6–2 record. BUF QB Josh Allen ignited the Offense and threw for more than 415 yards, and the WIN, 44–34. Equally on fire were the Vikings at home against DET where MIN QB Kirk Cousins, who offers topsy turvy consistency at best, delivered BIG TIME in combination with star RB Dalvin Cook (who went OFF yet again). DET QB Matt Stafford was left to pick through the wreckage of their second L in succession. And last night. Last night. WOOF. Who’d have thought that QB Joe Flacco could have led his Jets through three dominating quarters to perhaps snap their winless record so far this Season? And who would have thought that the once-legendary Pats could have been the Team to have plummeted to such depths as to allow for such an inept Loss? Luckily for NE, the Jets are the Jets and couldn’t reliably be depended upon to save themselves…from themselves. The NYJ’s Defense allowed 13 unanswered points in the 4th making way for NE’s improbable turnabout. Despite some signs of life out of Flacco, the Jets further cement their claim on pole position in next year’s Draft. The SS Belichick, meanwhile, sails with a dramatic starboard list into stormy AFC seas in the week ahead. We’ll see how long that boat can float.
And finally in our Round Robin review, the Chiefs barely edged past the severely downslope Panthers, 33–31. The Mahomes of yore is clearly BACK, but so too are the best efforts of still-formidable CAR QB Teddy Bridgewater along with returning favorite RB Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers suffer the indignity of their 4th Loss in a row. Broncos at ATL found the Falcons in the familiar territory of jumping out to an early lead. The game ended in the unfamiliar territory (for ATL) with them hanging onto said lead, 34–27. Drew Lock’s 4th quarter comeback push — while valiant and well meaning — fell shy of erasing the deficit the Falcons had amassed earlier on. Elsewhere, the Titans took on the Bears at home and drained their pot of honey, 24–17. Ryan Tannehill might have delivered a muted performance but it contrasted well nevertheless against the Nick Foles-led threadbare Offense. Beastly 8–0 Steel City traveled to Arlington and struggled more than they ought to have in ultimately vanquishing the limping Cowboys, 24–19. With news that Big Ben is on the COVID-19 IR list, here’s to Mason Rudolph not breaking things in his absence. The Giants racked up their second W of the Season and hand-delivered WAS’s 6th L, 23–20. Adding further misery to the Footballer’s plight is QB Kyle Allen’s gruesome ankle dislocation and bone chipping injury from this past Sunday. He’s out for the remainder of the year but IN for next week is crowd favorite Alex Smith who punched well above his weight on Sunday despite 3INTs. We’ll see what the weeks ahead hold in the cards for his story. Lastly, industrial-strength Defense carried the day in Baltimore’s pickup Win against the Colts, 24–10. The Jags, beset with an injured star QB Gardner Minshew, tried out #6 Draft Pick Jake Luton from Oregon State and were gifted smiles and the promise of depth at QB. Oh the Jags still lost to the Texans, 25–27, but at least there’s reason to be hopeful in spite of their pitiful 1–7 record. Yuck.
