Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette has seen his production take a dip of late, and it's apparently mainly because of a foot injury he's been playing through. Following the Buccaneers' 19-16 road win over the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas Day, Fournette revealed in a now-deleted tweet he posted to respond to his haters that he is dealing with a Lisfranc injury, hence his less-than-optimal performance in the last few weeks.

I hate when people be on here just talking saying I’m out of shape etc do y’all understand I’m playing with a lisfranc in my foot every week can barley push off my foot but through the Grace of God I’m going to keep proving y’all wrong…… #BucsWin

However, he looked way much better in the game against the Cardinals, even leading the Buccaneers in rushing and receiving. The former LSU Tigers star rushed for 72 yards on 20 carries and added 90 receiving yards on nine receptions and 10 targets. Those were the most yards he's rushed in a game since Week 1 and the most receiving yards he's had in a contest this season, thus far.

If the Buccaneers are to pull through and win the NFC South, they will have to hope that Fournette continues to fight through the pain of his injury and be there on the field for the final two games of the regular season, especially since both outings will be against their rivals in the division. The Buccaneers will face the Carolina Panthers at home in an all-important showdown in Week 17 before closing it all out with a road game versus the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18.

Tampa Bay also still has rookie Rachaad White, who's seen his role expand of late, but at the end of the day, so long as Fournette is healthy, the veteran will be the team's top option in the backfield. White, who scored a receiving touchdown in the win over the Cardinals,  is second on the team with 444 rushing yards to go with a touchdown on 114 carries.

Through 16 weeks in the 2022 NFL season, Fournette has 640 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.