The potential was always there for Derrius Guice, it has just taken longer than many thought to see it in an NFL game for the Washington Redskins.
Most of that is the fault of circumstance, not of Guice's own doing: An ACL tear ended his rookie campaign before it even began and a meniscus injury nearly derailed his sophomore NFL season after Week 1.
But it Guice needed just three games after coming off Injured Reserve to showcase his big-time potential. After a pair of ho-hum performances against the Jets and Lions (totaling 107 all-purpose yards and a touchdown), the second-year back out of LSU exploded in Carolina.
Best angle of the Derrius Guice nasty stiff arm. Nicely blocked play to spring him free too, but it’s all about that stiff arm. Love seeing Guice finally get an opportunity, he is incredibly talented and such a physical and enjoyable runner to watch. #Redskins pic.twitter.com/p3FTsfPUlH
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) December 3, 2019"Oh man. It's crazy!" fellow RB Chris Thompson told The Sports Junkies about Guice's stiff-arm. "Like right before that, (Guice) kept telling me, he was like, 'Man, nobody's out there talking noise. The only one that's been talking is Shaq.' And he just kept saying that every time he was coming off the sideline and I guess when he got his opportunity, he was able to get some payback with that stiff arm."
This was supposed to be the plan all along: Guice finished with 129 yards on the ground on 10 carries and scored twice. And on top of that, Adrian Peterson finished with 13 carries, 99 yards, and one touchdown.
Guice got most of his yards on two large chunk plays: The above 38-yard scamper in the 4th quarter and this 60-yard sprint in the first.
-- @DhaSickest#WASvsCAR pic.twitter.com/ERGrdrFbS0
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) December 1, 2019And that was always the hope for the Guice as a running back at the NFL level, averaging 5.5 yards per carry this season.
Derrius Guice breaks through the line and gets the #Redskins into the redzone with a huge gain.Nice elusiveness in traffic. Great, strong running. pic.twitter.com/a4kiTfhqrb
— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoRCC) December 1, 2019While Peterson still got more touches in interim head coach Bill Callahan's run-first offense, the next step for Guice is to become the featured back for the Redskins offense and prove he can remain healthy over the final quarter of the season.
Back-to-back wins. Season high on the ground. Monster defense.Derrius Guice and Adrian Peterson are stoked after a huge day at Carolina. pic.twitter.com/BCGBpWPmCy
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) December 1, 2019Follow @BenKrimmel and @1067theFan on Twitter.
