3 Commanders who must silence their haters vs the Jaguars

Washington Commanders football is finally back. Well, technically this is the first season under the new moniker after the rebrand this offseason.

But you get the point. After months of build-up, the Commanders will hit FedEx Field on Sunday for their season-opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are hoping to shed their laughingstock label after a statement offseason.

The Commanders are favored to defeat the Jaguars, and understandably so, but these specific players have (for different reasons) come under a ton of criticism between last season and this offseason and have a ton to prove in Sunday’s game.

3 Commanders who must silence haters in Week 1 vs Jaguars

3. Antonio Gibson

We admittedly had a tough time deciding who deserved this spot. Our choices were between Gibson, Jamin Davis and William Jackson III.

All three players warrant consideration and we’ll be watching them closely, but Brian Robinson’s unfortunate accident opens the door for Gibson to prove himself after he was demoted to RB2 duties and special teams after he fumbled in Week 1 of preseason and was thoroughly out-played by Robinson on the ground.

It’s anyone’s guess how big of a role Gibson will have, but you have to think he’ll get more carries than both JD McKissic and Jonathan Williams.

In a vacuum, this might be Gibson’s last chance to prove himself as the Commanders’ lead running back. It’s unclear when Robinson will return from the NFI list, but it’s pretty clear the team is planning for him to play a substantial role this season.

In the meantime, though, Gibson should get the bulk of carries and Week 1 presents a golden opportunity for him to (temporarily) silence his naysayers against a Jaguars defense that ranked 24th against the run last season.