Denver Broncos injuries, illnesses, upsets … oh, my!

Oct 27, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos head coach John Fox during the second half against the Washington Redskins at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 45-21. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The National Football League landscape is like my front yard:  green a couple of days ago, yellow today, surely white in the not-too-distant future.

Injuries, illnesses and upsets have left fans reeling.

John Fox is down and out as Denver Bronco head coach for the foreseeable future as a heart defect has forced a midseason surgery.  Jack Del Rio is in as interim head coach.  When and if Fox returns this season is in the hands of someone or something much more powerful than you ‘n’ me.

The Broncos now face the task of changing job descriptions in their planning department as they prepare for what we have already pointed out as the nastiest four-game stretch of the season – Sunday at San Diego against the Chargers, then at home against the still-unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs, on the road against the improving New England Patriots, and on the road against those same Chiefs.

All together now:  Pass protection for Peyton, please!

The Broncos, however, certainly aren’t the only team to suffer of late.

Houston, expected to be an AFC power, is just 2-6 after losing starters on both sides of the line and having starting running back Arian Foster and quarterback Matt Schaub in and out of the lineup.  And to top it off, their head coach Gary Kubiak, was carted off to the hospital Sunday at halftime with what reports have said may have been a stroke.

Just when Indianapolis was kicking it into high gear, down goes star wide receiver Reggie Wayne to a knee injury and quarterback Andrew Luck loses his go-to guy.

The Cincinnati Bengals, just starting to raise eyebrows as a legitimate AFC title threat, lost their best player, defensive lineman Geno Atkins, maybe the most disruptive lineman in the league.

Both of those players are out for the season and both losses take those teams down a notch when it comes to winning it all.

In the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons have been relegated to the role of weekly underdog because of injuries to their two star wide receivers, Julius Jones and Roddy White.

The New Orleans Saints have lost most of a deep stable of running backs, including little sparkplug Darren Sproles, who went down Sunday.

The San Francisco 49ers have had to make do without their top receiving threat, Michael Crabtree, throughout the season and the Seattle Seahawks, who had maybe the biggest free-agent coup of the offseason in signing wide receiver Percy Harvin, have not had him step on the field yet because of a bad hip.

Monday night, the Green Bay Packers lost star quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a collarbone injury and he may be out for a month.  Oh yes, the Packers were upset in that contest by the Chicago Bears, who were playing without their own starting quarterback, Jay Cutler.

Injuries are everywhere and you can bet they will simply multiply as the season heads into the second half.

As for other upsets, look no farther than Thursday’s 22-20 win by the Miami Dolphins over the Bengals on a safety in overtime.

That one created a big change in the AFC playoff picture, as did a 26-20 win by the New York Jets over the Saints on Sunday.

If the playoffs were to start today, Kansas City would still have the No. 1 seed in the AFC with its 9-0 record and game-and-a-half lead over the Broncos in the AFC West.

The second seed and other possessor of the bye would be the 7-2 Patriots, who rang up 55 points against the Steelers on Sunday.  Don’t look now, but …

The two wild-card games in the AFC would have the third-seeded Colts, now 6-2, hosting the 5-4 Jets and the fourth-seeded 6-3 Bengals (they are at the top of the AFC North by two games despite their loss to the Dolphins) hosting the 7-1 Broncos.

The NFC playoffs have 8-1 Seattle and 6-2 New Orleans with byes.

Green Bay was third-seeded in the NFC prior to Monday’s loss, but has tumbled out of the playoff picture, one of four teams at 5-3.  Carolina is now the sixth seed at 5-3 thanks to its 2-0 divisional record (the other 5-3 teams are all 2-1 in divisional play) and would travel to third-seeded Detroit.  Fourth-seeded Dallas would host fifth-seeded San Francisco in the other wild-card game.

Yes, things are changing rapidly in the NFL.

And the real fireworks haven’t even started yet.

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