The Jacksonville Jaguars will be entering Week 2 as slight underdogs to the Houston Texans. With rookie Gardner Minshew starting this game, the Jaguars may decide to lean on Leonard Fournette a little more.
Last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jaguars began the game with a 10-point deficit in the first quarter. After Kansas City made it 10-0, Nick Foles responded with a 35-yard strike to DJ Chark for a touchdown.
On the play though, Foles had taken a devastating hit from Chris Jones that injured his shoulder. Shortly after the game concluded, Foles was diagnosed with a broken clavicle and was placed on injured reserve. It was a very tough blow for the veteran quarterback who signed with the Jaguars this offseason.
In his absence, Minshew performed fairly well with 275 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. The rookie out of Washington State showed some upside but the team can't stray away from utilizing Fournette.
Fournette worked on his ability to be a dual-threat weapon over the course of the offseason. That slightly showed in Week 1 with the bruising back totaling 94 yards from scrimmage and four receptions.
Without Foles under center, Fournette will have a breakout performance against Houston on Sunday. One way to ease the pressure off of a rookie signal-caller is to have him hand the ball to his workhorse running back.
With T.J. Yeldon leaving for the Buffalo Bills, there is no longer anyone else on the roster who will take meaningful touches in the backfield. As a matter of fact, Fournette was given 13 of the 14 carries for running backs in Week 1.
Along with having him run the ball, the Jaguars will likely elect to use Fournette on short passing plays as well. Getting Fournette the ball and allowing him to make plays is crucial to the Jaguars winning this week.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Texans also struggled to stop the run in their Week 1 contest against the New Orleans Saints. Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray combined for 140 yards and a touchdown on 19 rushing attempts.
Considering all of that, Fournette may be in for a game where he proves that he is still one of the most talented running backs in the NFL for the Jaguars.
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