The Jacksonville Jaguars are catching a lucky break before Week 2.
With the Kansas City Chiefs set to visit EverBank Stadium on Sunday, the Jaguars got a good piece of injury news to close the week, with Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson announcing that injured center Luke Forner (ankle) and right guard Brandon Scherff (ankle) would play on Sunday.
Fortner and Scherff have started each of the Jaguars' last 20 games together -- the entirety of the Doug Pederson era. Now, the duo will be on hand vs. elite defensive tackle Chris Jones.
“Yeah, you’re doing everything you can to put everybody in the best possible position being aware of where he is," Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said this week.
"We have to have a plan for if he’s playing shade, if he’s playing three, if he’s playing end. That’s something you see as you watch across the course of watching their defense. He lines up everywhere, he does a great job wherever he’s aligned. Everybody is aware that could certainly come up any point in time. It could be in the game when he’s standing at defensive end versus shade or three, whatever that may be. That’s something we’re very aware of as we prepare a plan to attack these guys.”
Fortner, a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, has started all 20 games of his career to this point, not missing a single snap. This included two starts against the Chiefs last year.
"He’s a great player. He has a big impact on the pass game, he can push the pocket, he can line up at defensive end which you would anticipate him doing that," Pederson said on Wednesday about Jones. "You got to know where he’s going to be on the defensive line and it’s always a challenge. He’s a load in there and you got to make sure you have not just two, but maybe four hands on him to try to stop his momentum.”
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