NFL injury ruins Super Bowl hopes - P2

 Andy Dalton, 2015

Based on Dalton's career, this seems far-fetched. But the Bengal team took a 10-2 lead in the games Dalton ended in 2015 as they assembled the best teams of the Marvin Lewis era. Cincinnati lost to Dalton by a total of seven points - ahead of winning teams 13 and 12 - and its fifth-year passer has a TD-INT rating of 25-7 as his broken thumb ended his season at Week 14. Both the Broncos and the Patriots are also 10-2, and while history suggests those teams will beat the Bengals in January, this is Cincy's best shot yet. The team won 2-3 in games ended by AJ McCarron, culminating in an era-ending boom against the Steelers in the wilds.

Cliff Avril and Jeremy Lane, 2014

The Seahawks showed off their defensive prowess in Super Bowl XLVIII and pushed the famous fusion to win a repeat NFC championship. By Super Bowl XLIX, the crew that stood in front of the Legion of Boom had disbanded. Richard Sherman faced the Patriots with a torn elbow ligament, Earl Thomas played with a shoulder with a torn lip, and Kam Chancellor with a torn MCL. During Super Bowl XLIX, Lane stopped Brady but broke his arm and tore his ACL during the game. Avril, a prominent throw-in, left the game with a concussion. While this game is best remembered for the Seahawks' ill-fated line call, their defensive dam was broken. The Pats cleared the 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

NaVorro Bowman, 2013

The 49ers finished their last game in the early 2010s without one of their two All-Pro defenders. Bowman, who joined Patrick Willis as one of the NFL great inside support duos, won All-Pro acclaim for the third year in a row. The do-it-yourself defender 'tears almost every ligament in his knee with nine minutes to go. The Seahawks had a 20-17 lead at the time but fell short for a key goal on the field in their next game. Given how the game ended -- Colin Kaepernick's pass into Malcolm Smith's arms -- the 49ers needed just one goal there that represented the main difference. Seattle won Super Bowl XLVIII by 35 points. By the time Bowman returned in 2015, the 49ers' window was closed.

Rob Gronkowski, early 2010s

Gronkowski has become one of the iconic players of his era and one of the most injury-prone. The superstar's tight finish began on this path in the early 2010s, when the league's dominant pass catcher suffered three injuries at the end of the season. Gronk suffered a severe ankle sprain during the 2011 AFC Championship match, severely limiting the All-Pro during Super Bowl XLVI. Gronk then fractured his forearm in 2012 and aggravated it in that year's AFC title match -- a loss to Raven. The Pats lost 26-3 in the decisive 2013 AFC game in Denver, but Gronk had to miss weeks of play with an ACL tear. The Pats haven't won any titles this time around, but if Gronk were 100%, they could have won one.

Plaxico Burress, 2008

With Amani Toomer in his 13th season and final slot not offering the same product as Jeremy Shockey, the Giants need Burress. They were leading 10-1 when their No. 1 match accidentally shot themselves at a Manhattan nightclub. Burress was battling a hamstring injury and missed Week 12, but instead of a brief absence, he never played for the Giants again. The defending champions were arguably better than their 2007 counterparts, beating all four teams to the finals of that year's tournament. After the shootout, the 1st seed team lost 4/6 games -- including a 23-11 division play-off against the Eagles. Burress spent nearly two years in prison.

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