There were a couple interesting NFL injury stories over the past few weeks, including a stunning injury video of Tyquan Thornton and an unusual trauma in the broadcast booth. At the end, I’ll provide a quick review of the Lions vs Packers midweek injury report.
But first, here was my fun conversation with Jeff Risdon today…
Where is pain originated in the body?
This injury video of Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton exemplifies the the fascinating phenomenon of pain. In the video, you see Thornton suffer an obviously deformed left ankle fracture and dislocation, but it’s his immediate response that stands out…
October 4, 2026:
Thornton gets up to celebrate until he sees he can’t stand up on his left foot due to the ankle fracture. There was no pain signal in the brain alerting him to the severity of the injury.
I took a class devoted to the study of perception and pain while I was at the University of Pennsylvania. What I learned was fascinating and really changed my outlook on the world. Here are some key takeaways:
Pain is 100% created by the brain. The brain may use neuronal signals from body parts to help guide when to create pain, but there is no sensation of pain until the brain creates it. We see this in the Thornton video where the body part has suffered severe trauma, but the brain has not created the pain yet.
The brain can create pain even without neuronal signals from body parts. This explains the phenomenon of phantom limb pain, where people can still feel pain in limbs that have been previously amputated.
Because pain is created in the brain, it is not something that can be measured by doctors. There is no lab test or imaging to measure pain. This is why doctors use subjective 1-10 scales, because that is the best option we have. Because of the subjectivity of pain, it makes it a challenge to treat properly without risking addiction to opioids. This is one of the underlying reasons for the opioid crisis.
It’s not just pain that is entirely created by the brain, it’s all our sensory experiences. Vision, hearing, touch, and smell are all perceptions created in the brain - usually with the help of external stimuli but not always. This is why phenomena like sensory illusions exist.
The bottom line is that the brain can create things that do not exist in the external world, and also not create things that do exist. In the end, we are all living within our own Matrix created by our own brains.
The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television.
-The Matrix
Jim Nantz Hand Injury
Perhaps the most unusual injury over the past weekend occurred when Jim Nantz attempted to punch a football out of JJ Watt’s hands.
Later, Nantz appeared with his hand wrapped up…
A boxer’s fracture is a possibility here, which is a fracture of the distal fifth metacarpal (the base of the pinky).
This bone is fragile and can be easily broken when punching anything hard like someone’s face or a wall. This is one reason why players shouldn’t be punching other players in the helmet.
Lions vs Packers Week 7 Midweek Injury Report
Detroit Lions
There were no changes in participation. The full practices for Brian Branch and Cade Mays keeps them on track to play, while another limited practice for Rock Ya-Sin makes him increasingly less likely to play.
Green Bay Packers
New additions to the report include LB Zaire Franklin (shin) and LB Lukas Van Ness (illness), neither of which seems likely to be significant. A shin is an unusual body part designation, and a simple bruise is one of the only possibilities. An illness generally does not keep a player out of action unless it is within a day or two of game time.
Tomorrow, I’ll analyze the final injury report for Lions vs Packers. For the detailed analysis of the initial injury report…
Lions vs Packers Week 7: Initial Injury Report
The Detroit Lions emerge from their bye in excellent health as they take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. All Lions starters will be available to play on Sunday (unless you count Kerby Joseph). For the first time this season, starters Brian Branch and Cade Mays will play. There were no surprises for the Lions on the initial report, which is always we…