Todd Gurley hasn't played in nearly a month, sitting out the last two games of the regular season with knee inflammation. But Sean McVay is optimistic that Gurley will be practicing in full when the team takes the field this afternoon.
“We anticipate [Gurley and safety Lamarcus Joyner] being full participants when we get back on Tuesday,” McVay said on a Sunday evening conference call with L.A. media. “I think both of those guys, having had that last week off to get themselves another extra week to get themselves feeling healthy — and, really, the bye week as well.”
The Rams won their last two games without Gurley, but that was against lesser opposition (Cardinals and 49ers). Gurley was huge the last time these teams played, in Week 4 of the 2017 season. In that one, Gurley rushed for 121 yards and caught 7 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas ranked 5th in run defense during the season, but Gurley faced five top-10 run defenses in the regular season. Only the Bears totally shut him down, and that was on the road. In each of the other four games, he scored 1-2 TDs, and went over 100 total yards in three of them.
| GURLEY VERSUS TOP-10 RUN DEFENSES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Run | Rec | Tot | TD |
| LAC | 105 | 51 | 156 | 1 |
| at N.O. | 68 | 11 | 79 | 1 |
| at Det. | 132 | 33 | 165 | 2 |
| at Chi. | 28 | 30 | 58 | 0 |
| Phil. | 48 | 76 | 124 | 2 |
As long as Gurley is out there practicing fully this week, as McVay indicates should be the case, he looks safe to fire up as one of the divisional round's top running backs.
--Andy Richardson