WFT's Resurgence a Product of 3-Yard Runs
The Washington Football Team is in the middle of a four-game winning streak and seems to have found its niche at the perfect time heading into a tough five-week NFC East gauntlet.
This offensive identity might not make for jaw-dropping television, but it's exactly what head coach Ron Rivera wants from a group that has seemingly rallied around one another in recent weeks.
"You've got to learn to fall in love with the three-yard run," Rivera said during Monday's press conference. "If you ran two three-yard runs, now you're looking at 3rd-and-4 as opposed to being at 3rd-and-10. We've been able to do that."
Aside from fundamental offensive line play and conservative play-calling, the legs of running back Antonio Gibson has been a primary catalyst for this success on the ground.
Despite a nagging shin injury that has yet to force him to miss an entire contest, Gibson has taken on true workhorse responsibilities during the four-game win streak, with touch-totals of 26, 19, 36, and 29 over the past four games.
Averaging 3.9 yards a carry this season, Gibson isn't exactly a home-run hitting back, but he fits Rivera’s "three-yard philosophy" almost perfectly.
In Sunday's 17-15 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Memphis product rushed 23 times for 88 yards, which equals to around 3.8 yards a carry. He also caught five of his six targets for 23 yards and a touchdown.
"I thought AG stepped up nicely," Rivera said after Sunday's win. "This was a tough work-week for everybody. We were in a situation. We had some guys step up."
Gibson is catching fire at the perfect time as the Dallas Cowboys come marching into FedEx Field this Sunday. In two career games against the division rival, Gibson has gashed the Cowboy's defense for 40 total carries, 243 rushing yards, and four scores.
Dallas fans might still be having nightmares from his three-score performance in a blowout win for Washington on Thanksgiving last season.
The potential return of running back J.D McKissic (concussion) this week might take some of the back-field receiving workload off of Gibson, meaning he'll need to be locked-in on keeping the football safe.
Gibson leads all running backs this season in total fumbles (five) and lost fumbles (three).
