James Conner suffered a left ankle injury in the first half of Monday night’s game against the Giants, ESPN’s Maria Taylor said in the second half. Connor, starting to run after the Steelers, ruled as a question mark to get back into the game.
Kerner got nine yards on six carries and caught two passes for eight yards before leaving the game. In Conner’s absence, the Steelers trailed Benny Snail in the second year, who overcame a 100-yard hurdle in the fourth quarter. Snell, elected in the fourth round of Kentucky in 2019, outscored Jailan Samuels, running back to the depth chart after training camp as No. 2 in Pittsburgh.
A 2018 Pro Bowler, Kerner – who is set to become a free agent in the next season – has been blocked from injuries since joining the Steelers in 2017. After missing the last three games of his rookie season, Kerner missed three games in 2018 and six games last season due to injury. While healthy, Connor has proven to be a good player, running for 1,581 yards and making 16 touchdowns at 363, carrying an average of 4.4 yards per carry. He has improved significantly both as a blocker and as a receiver after struggling on both early during his rookie season.
Despite Connor’s absence, the Steelers were heading for a 1-week win, as Pittsburgh took a 25-10 lead with more than five minutes left.
