Except it's really not just an excuse. Tell me one football team who is still a legitimate playoff contender without their starting QB? There really isn't one. The teams who make it though the season and playoffs are usually the healtiest ones. There's a good reason for that. Not a single team in the league would have a winning record missing their starting qb, 2 or 3 starting WRs, 2 starting CBs and more. It just doesn't happen very often.
Injuries are absolutely hurting this team. Are there other issues? Sure, but think about the Rams. If Stafford, Kupp, Donald and Ramsey were all missing, you think they win many games? If Cincy is missing Burrow, Chase, Dixon, T-Rex...they still win yesterday? Nope. Not even close.
Considering injuries, I pretty much penciled this game as a loss. In fact, I was thinking that even before the season started, before the injuries.
I haven't written off this season yet. A win vs the Cards would be a big help. I hope the defense is better and the tackling is improved. But the more important thing is the team needs to get some of their star players back. Injuries matter. To dismiss that out of hand is shortsighted imo.