Fantasy Alert: Michael Turner, Ryan Mathews Injured in Week 2

Sheer panic struck the fantasy community as both Michael Turner and Ryan Mathews went down with injuries in their Week 2 matchups. Turner suffered a "mild" groin strain in the second quarter of Atlanta's 41-7 shellacking of the Cardinals, and was held out the rest of the game since it was a blowout.

"I don't think it was significant," Falcons head coach Mike Smith said regarding Turner's injury. "He was cleared to go back into that game at halftime."

Turner finished the game with 75 yards on nine carries, while Jason Snelling racked up the fantasy points with a whopping 186 total yards and three TDs. Snelling has proven his fantasy worth before when Turner was injured last season, but this was by far the most eye-popping stat line of his career.

Mathews' injury, on the other hand, appeared to be more worrisome at first. He sustained a right ankle sprain late in the first quarter of the Chargers' 38-13 victory over Jacksonville. Mathews did not get back in the game, but he did return to the Chargers' sideline. In his absence, 243-pound bruiser Mike Tolbert plowed over the Jaguars' defense to the tune of 82 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

"I feel like I could have played, but they didn't want to risk it, so they sat me out," Mathews said.

Instead, Mathews' fantasy owners were treated to an ultra-aggravating watching session with the prevalent thought being "those were my running back's touchdowns!" Coincidentally, both Snelling and Tolbert wound up finishing in the Top 10 on the Fleaflicker fantasy points leaderboard for Week 2.

NFL Network's Jason La Canfora tweeted that both Mathews and Turner could be back next week, and while that's encouraging, you shouldn't be banking on anything in the capricious world of fantasy football. If you've got the bench space, Snelling and Tolbert are worthy waiver-wire additions, even if you're not an owner of Turner or Mathews.

Tolbert, who garnered some buzz in training camp, should still retain deeper-league value when Mathews returns. It's clear he has a nose for the end zone and it wouldn't be surprising to see him get regular work, especially in the Chargers' crucial short-yardage situations. The versatile Darren Sproles is already on plenty of rosters (64-percent owned), but Tolbert is still available in pretty much every league.

Keep in mind that it was Tolbert -- not Sproles -- who became the clear-cut favorite for carries Sunday once Mathews was sidelined. He also scored in the first quarter before Mathews was hurt, so regardless of how soon Mathews returns as the starter, Tolbert will clearly get touches inside the red zone moving forward. As it stands now though, he'll be little more than an intriguing flex spot play for when you're in a bind.