Green light, Gurley?
All signs pointing to Rams star running back ready to roll in showdown with Cowboys
C’mon, Sean. NFL fantasy playoff poolies need to know. Is Todd Gurley 100% healthy to play on Saturday, or not?
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay hasn’t flatout confirmed this week whether Gurley — one of the NFL’s top running backs, and a fantasy-points monster — will play on Saturday night against the Dallas Cowboys, in the first of two weekend NFC divisional playoff games.
That’s because McVay probably can’t say for sure. That said, it sure looks as though Gurley’s a go.
The NFC West-champion Rams (13-3) are counting on the presence of Gurley, the running back who led the NFL in touchdowns this season with 21, but who missed the previous two weeks with a knee injury.
Gurley spent last week’s playoff bye further rehabbing the undisclosed ailment, but mainly worked on getting his cardio back up to game speed.
“Yeah, he’s feeling good, he’s gonna practise,” McVay said after the Rams’ Wednesday-morning walkthrough, and before afternoon practice. “We’re going to follow a normal routine as when he’s been (able to play) this season. He didn’t have any soreness from (Tuesday’s practice). He’s going to take part in (Wednesday’s). So very good news on that front.”
Sure is. But Gurley did not practise fully on Wednesday, for the second straight day. The Rams practise one more time (Thursday) before mostly resting Friday, prior to Saturday night’s game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Gurley apparently likes to play practical jokes, and got his head coach but good on Wednesday morning, shortly after showing up to the Rams’ facility.
“He got a kick out of joking with me that he was real sore today,” McVay said. “I didn’t think it was that funny.” He chuckled anyway. There’s probably nothing funny to the Cowboys (11-6) about having to face Gurley. For two years straight now, since McVay succeeded Jeff Fisher as head coach and instantly transformed a talented but underperforming team into a juggernaut, the fourth-year running back has been the most prolific non-kicking scorer in the league. He’s also as dangerous a two-way back (that is, rushing and receiving) as any in a league that’s now chock full of them.
In 2017, Gurley led the NFL in touchdowns (19) and allpurpose yards (2,093), and ranked second in both first downs gained (98) and rushing yards (1,305).
In 2018, he was a fantasypoints goldmine again, ranking first in both touchdowns scored (21) and first downs gained (96), third in rushing yards (1,251) and fourth in all-purpose yards (1,831) — and he missed the last two games, 12.5% of the season.
Speaking of those missed games, Gurley hasn’t played in a victory in more than a month, since Dec. 2, because the Rams lost the last two times he played — at Chicago on Dec. 9 and at home to Philadelphia on Dec. 16.
At that time, with Gurley potentially out for a few weeks, the Rams signed veteran running back C.J. Anderson off the street. He’d looked so good at times in Denver from 2013-17, but not much this season as a thirdstringer in Carolina before getting cut after nine games.
In the Rams’ seasonclosing games Anderson tore it up in Gurley’s place, rushing for 167 yards (8.4yard average) in a 31-9 blowout of Arizona, and 132 yards (5.7-yard average) in a 48-32 demolition of San Francisco.
“He’s done a great job,” Gurley said. “He came in and he’s been doing better than me. He’s been killing it, man … He’s been a Pro Bowl running back, a Super Bowl player. He’s a great player.”
McVay reiterated Wednesday that it’s great to be going into such a big game with — really, for the first time this season — two established running backs who can dominate. Each will get carries should Gurley indeed play, McVay said.
“If Todd’s able to go, we want to get him going. But I think we want to get C.J. (going) as well. I think you can expect to see a good balance of both — some different things that maybe gets those guys on the field.”
They face a Dallas defence that shut down Seattle’s league-leading rushing attack in last Saturday night’s 24-22 wild-card victory. The Rams rushing attack ranked third in the regular season.
Of course what the Rams possess that the Seahawks don’t is a top-shelf passing attack, piloted by third-year quarterback Jared Goff.
It ranked fifth in the NFL, whereas Seattle’s ranked 27th.
Still, Los Angeles will attempt to establish the run, and its chances of avoiding back-to-back one-and-done playoff appearances will improve markedly if it can do so.
Goff on Tuesday talked about that added impact a healthy Gurley brings to the Rams offence.
“Where do you start,” Goff said.
“He’s obviously electric with the ball in his hands, and can do so many things on the ground, through the air everything in between. Then, his (pass) protection ability, and how smart he is, his ability to be a good teammate, his ability to be a leader — it’s all part of who he is.”