A lot of the talk surrounding the Los Angeles Rams so far in the 2019 NFL season has been about running back Todd Gurley and his reduced workload.
That was epitomized after the Rams’ Week 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Gurley carried the ball just five times, and Jared Goff turned it over four times is a disappointing home defeat.
The Rams did not have much time to think about that loss though as they traveled for a divisional matchup with the
Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in Week 5. It was a much better overall performance from the Rams, but they were defeated, 30-29, to drop to 3-2 on the season after Greg Zuerlein missed a potential game-winning field goal.
While a division loss is never ideal, there were some positives to take away from the game as the Rams played much better than they did in Week 4.
Rams head coach and play-caller Sean McVay made it a point of emphasis to get Gurley going early against the Seahawks, and while he was not able to break any long runs, he still helped open the field for Goff and the passing game.
Gurley finished with 15 carries for 51 yards and two touchdowns, also hauling in three receptions for six yards as McVay liked what he saw from the former Pro Bowler, via Gary Klein of the L.A. Times:
“We wanted to get him going,” McVay said. “I thought he did a good job. He had some tough, hard-earned yards against a good defensive front.”
Gurley logged five carries in the first half of the first quarter, which equal his carry total from the loss to the Buccaneers. McVay explained why he felt it was important to get Gurley involved:
“Just being able to get some runs off enables you to stay in those normal downs and distances,” McVay said. “It opened up some other things.”
Gurley has deferred to McVay as far as his usage goes so far this season. While many players would be satisfied getting more touches, Gurley was not as the Rams didn’t come away with a win:
“We lost the game,” he said, “so it doesn’t really matter.”
The Gurley usage topic is one that will probably be prevalent all season after it was revealed in the offseason that he is dealing with arthritis in his knee and the Rams said they plan to limit his workload a bit this season.
After a slow start to the season, the Rams offense seems to be finding its form though. The schedule will also get easier moving forward, so hopefully, the Rams can get back on track starting in Week 6.
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