Panthers injury report for Week 8 against Broncos is flat-out saddening

The Carolina Panthers might just be the most injured team in football, and their Friday injury report would make most people feel bad for them. At the end of the day, this is the NFL, and no matter how long a team's injury report, is, they still have to trot out there for the game. In Week 8, the Panthers travel to Denver to face the Broncos.

Denver is riding a nice early-season turnaround, having won four of the previous five games. They started 0-2 and are now 4-3 on the season, with a legitimate shot to get to 5-3. Well, even with a perfectly healthy starting lineup, the Carolina Panthers are still the worst team in football, but check out their injury report heading into this game:

The Carolina Panthers are shockingly banged up

As of this report, six players are ruled out and another three are doubtful. That leaves another nine players who are questionable, and even being questionable is only about a 50/50 shot at actually playing in the game. The most notable news from this report is that Andy Dalton is not starting; he got in a car accident and sprained his thumb, so second-year QB Bryce Young will get the start in Week 8.

The Denver Broncos are coming into this game not nearly as banged up, and are overall pretty healthy if you ask me. We are approaching the halfway point of the season, and while Denver has lost players for a game or two or even for the season, they aren't dealing with this big of an injury report.

Let's be honest here; if the Denver Broncos lose this game, it may go down as one of the most pathetic losses in the history of the franchise, even worse than the team getting blown out by the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. That was the game where former guard Dalton Risner shoved former backup QB Brett Rypien.

Denver is likely going to take care of business in Week 8 and go into their Week 9 preparations at a strong 5-3 record, which would likely elevate their playoff chances, perhaps closer to 60%. The offense should have a nice day on the ground and through the air, and the defense should have no issues keeping Bryce Young at bay.

In what now feels like a must-win, can the Broncos beat the banged up Panthers?