Antonio Gibson Key to Washington Football Team Playoff Hopes

Outlook

All of Washington’s five remaining games are division tilts. They have two games each against the Cowboys and Eagles and finish the season on the road against the Giants. If they are to successfully navigate this stretch and reach the playoffs, they will likely do so by giving the ball to Antonio Gibson on the ground and through the air.

When the weather gets cold and the field gets torn up, defenses aren’t exactly going to be excited to try to bring down a 220-pound running back upwards of 20 times per game. It’s because of this that I think Gibson will continue to get considerable work down the stretch.

Any team that is struggling to find a running back should look at what the Washington Football Team did here to acquire Antonio Gibson, a young, inexpensive, versatile player who is relatively fresh compared to most college running backs, because he only had 33 career college rushing attempts.

They used a third-round pick to select a true three-down back who’s big, can catch the ball, run between the tackles, and really wear down a defense over the course of a game. Whether the Football Team wants to give him a second contract is another issue entirely, but their strategy for securing an exceptional ball carrier could and should be something that other teams try to emulate in the near future.