Three keys to victory for the Washington Football Team vs. 49ers
3. Be creative running the football
The win against the Steelers was not all sunshine and roses. Early in the game, the Washington Football Team lost their leading rusher and star rookie Antonio Gibson with turf toe. He has been ruled out for this week. That a tough blow.
That leaves the Washington Football Team with J.D. McKissic, Peyton Barber, and (most likely) Javon Leake if he gets called up from the practice squad at running back on Sunday. McKissic is a good receiving back but his small frame prevents him from being an every-down back.
Peyton Barber is a good power back for the third-and-one situations. However, a general lack of burst prevents him from being a threat in the run game. Meanwhile, Javon Leake is a general unknown at this point.
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As you can tell, Gibson is a huge loss. While still inconsistent, he was the teams most explosive running back and is good in the passing game. Scott Turne will need to be creative to find some yards in the run game, much like he did against the Steelers.
One way he will probably do this is to use his swing passes to players like J.D. McKissic, Isaiah Wright, and Steven Sims as an essential extension of the run game. However, he is going to have to do more than just that.
Throughout the season, Turner has consistently shown some jet action. He will bring a receiver in motion and have him run across the formation. He has sometimes handed it off but not enough to make it a threat.
Against the Niners, Scott Turner should actually begin to hand it off to the player on that jet action. Give it a few times to Sims, McKissic, Wright, or even Terry McLaurin on that jet action. That will force the defense to have to consider that and you can build off that play. It keeps the defense off-balance.
Next. How WFT will function without Antonio Gibson. dark
In a game without its lead back, the Washington Football Team is going to have manufacture rushing yards. Getting speedy, quick-twitch players out in space may do just the trick.