The star players in the NFL get all of the media attention, but often it can be the key reserves that separate the good teams from the great ones. Injuries are an inevitability of football, and those teams best equipped to overcome them will survive the annual war of attrition that is the NFL season.
Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs were decimated with injuries across their offensive line come playoff time, and made it all the way to the big game before succumbing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive front. But that very same Buccaneers front outlasted adversity as well, with arguably its best player in interior defender Vita Vea missing every game from Week 6 up until the NFC Championship Game.