Washington Football Team: 4 things we learned in win over Bengals
By Jerry Trotta
It wasn’t pretty, but the Washington Football Team won it second preseason game on Friday night, defeating the Bengals 17-13 in a defensive slugfest.
We know wins and losses don’t matter in the preseason, but it was admittedly nice to see Ron Rivera’s side get back in the W column after their lackluster Week 1 performance against the Patriots.
The most important thing, however, is that Washington got through the game with a clean bill of health. While some players got dinged up, words can’t describe how significant it is that they avoided major injuries.
But enough about that. For as uneventful as the game was, it actually answered a lot of burning questions about the roster. With that in mind, let’s delve into four things we learned from the victory.
Football Team: 4 things we learned in win over Bengals
4. Peyton Barber could play a key role.
The presence of Peyton Barber has a number of fans perplexed. After all, they want Antonio Gibson to be unleashed as a three-down running back and Barber will only take carries away from the emerging star.
Furthermore, Barber sticking around could potentially mean that fan favorite Jaret Patterson starts the season on the practice squad, which would be unfair given how he’s performed at camp and in the preseason.
We hear those opinions. However, it seems like the Football Team could deploy Barber as a short-yardage specialist. After all, Gibson has never been proficient in those areas and struggled again on Friday night.
For those who still keep wondering about Peyton Barber. He's on the roster, in part, because he does well in short yardage situations. Gibson hasn't (yet) shown the same effectiveness in this role and nobody else would fill it.
— John Keim (@john_keim) August 21, 2021
Peyton Barber could play a key role for Washington in 2021.
Should Washington choose to keep four RBs on the roster, however, there could be room for both Barber and Patterson. In any event, don’t expect Barber to be kicked to the curb just because Gibson has superstar potential.
As high as Gibson’s ceiling is, his struggles in short-yardage situations could be a detriment to the offense. While we’d like for him to learn on the job, it’s clear Rivera and Co. have plans for Barber in 2021, whether fans like it or not.