Through four games in 2019, Rams running back Todd Gurley averaged 16 touches per game. On Thursday night, Gurley had 18 touches.
But the 2017 NFL offensive player of the year had a significant impact, scoring two touchdowns while generating 51 rushing yards.
“We wanted to get him going,” Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters regarding Gurley’s performance. “I thought he did a good job. He got some tough, hard-earned yards against a good defensive front. They have done an excellent job through the first quarter of the season, stopping people. I thought he had some good runs. I thought we did a good job on some things and that opened up somethings in the passing game.”
McVay explained that Gurley’s ability to run the ball early helped keep the offense in more normal down-and-distance situations.
“It opened up some other things,” McVay added. “I thought he did a nice job throughout the night. He had two big touchdowns for us so that was big.”
Gurley didn’t talk much about his performance after the game, but based on the quote sheet from the game Gurley seemed to be far less surly than he was on Tuesday. A two-touchdown night will tend to do that, even if he’s still a very long way from having the workload that he once did.
