The running back won NFL offensive player of the year honors in 2017 and is a MVP candidate this year, but struggled Sunday against the defensive-minded Bears.
CHICAGO – In the era of next-generation stats and player tracking, there’s still an old-school measure to determine which players are the most valuable. They’re the ones who put the ball in the end zone.
That’s why Rams running back Todd Gurley’s poor performance Sunday against Chicago seemed so shocking. Gurley, who entered the game as the NFL’s leading rusher, got bottled early by a strong Chicago defensive front and finished with 28 yards on 11 carries in a 15-6 defeat. He also did not reach the end zone, which is the most surprising of all.
Gurley, coming off an extraordinary 2017 season in which he totaled a league-high 19 touchdowns in 15 games, already has matched that total this season. Gurley entered Sunday’s game, his 13th of the season, with 15 rushing touchdowns and four receiving scores.
Gurley, who won NFL offensive player of the year honors last season, also seemed on pace to exceed last season’s league-leading total of 2,093 yards from scrimmage. Gurley’s profile has been lower this season, in part because of the Rams’ stellar passing game, but he’s been no less valuable.
“It’s huge,” quarterback Jared Goff said this week. “It’s happened a lot of times this year, but in particular, you look at Denver and last week (at Detroit) when we really weren’t getting anything done through the air and needed that spark and needed him in a bad way. He came through. I’ve said it a handful of times, I’m very thankful to have him next to me and be able to play alongside him for hopefully a long time.”
Until Sunday, the Rams’ offense has been every bit as effective this season, and Gurley’s usage has been remarkably similar.
