Leonard Fournette injures ankle vs. Steelers

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on their way to upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they may have to finish without Leonard Fournette.

A regular season win on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a measure of confidence heading into Sunday’s Divisional Round game. Running back Leonard Fournette scored two first quarter rushing touchdowns to bring a 14-0 lead, and the Jaguars lead 28-14 at halftime.

But in the second quarter, Fournette was tackled awkwardly after a 10-yard reception. He immediately left the field with a right ankle injury, limping off and subsequently to the locker room, and the team has deemed him questionable to return.

Fournette has been dealing with a right ankle issue off and on for some time, so it surely didn’t take much for the injury to be aggravated. He missed three regular season games due to injury and disciplinary action, and Jacksonville won all three games. But Chris Ivory was active for all three of those games, and he was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game.

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T.J. Yeldon stepped in immediately for Fournette, and he had a rushing score of his own in the second quarter. Corey Grant (8.3 yards per carry during the regular season) would also be in line for some snaps in the second half if Fournette is not able to go.

The Steelers may have grabbed some momentum with a late second quarter touchdown to narrow the margin to 14. But the real momentum-turning moment looks to be Fournette’s injury, assuming he is unable to return. At the time of the injury, he had 12 carries for 82 yards and the two touchdowns along with one reception on two targets from Blake Bortles.