The Pittsburgh Steelers enjoyed a Monday Night Football win over the New York Giants in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL regular season. While they managed a solid 26-16 win, not everything went their way. One of the biggest negatives to come out of Monday night was the injury to superstar running back James Conner.

Conner left the game early after recording just nine yards on six carries (and two receptions for eight yards). The reason for that was an ankle injury, resulting in Benny Snell Jr. taking over as the primary ball carrier. That actually was no issue. Snell Jr. ended the game with an incredible 113 yards on just 19 carries.

With that in mind, you have to wonder what the Steelers will do next. Conner may miss a few weeks and Snell Jr. absolutely balled out in Week 1.

However, it appears Conner still has a role. According to Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin says they will “leave the light on” for the running back.

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“Though they lost right tackle Zach Banner to a torn ACL in last night’s win over the Giants, Tomlin was more positive about the conditions of running back James Conner and offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski.

“Still in the process of getting scans on Wiz and James Conner, but I think their forecast is a more favorable one, so we’ll leave the light on for those two,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.”

Obviously, that does not mean Snell Jr. can't win more playing time. But it is also a way of saying that they will not be tossing Conner to the side.

Of course, you have to remember just how important Conner can be to this offense. He has been a workhorse back over the previous two seasons. And his role in 2020 looked to be pretty similar. If anything, Snell Jr. taking some carries could be a good thing. It could help to take some of the pressure of Conner and keep him a little bit more rested throughout the season.

It will be interesting to see what role each running back takes upon the return of Conner. We'll have to wait and see, but for now – it appears the light is still on for the “starting” running back.