While there were a number of factors that contributed to the Los Angeles Rams’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10, the lack of involvement from running back Todd Gurley down the stretch was undoubtedly the most perplexing.
Although the Rams had an extra week to get their affairs in order coming off the bye, they still struggled to find their rhythm on offense against a talented Steelers defense. Despite their lackluster outing, they did manage to show some promise in the run game that they had not enjoyed for the bulk of the 2019 NFL season.
Gurley had been in the midst of one of his best performances of the year with 76 yards on 12 carries heading into the fourth quarter. However, he did not touch the ball again for the rest of the game during the 17-12 loss.
Rams head coach Sean McVay admits in hindsight that he wishes Gurley would have gotten more carries when it mattered, via Gary Klein of the L.A. Times:
“Not to take anything away from Malcolm — but if you knew that that was going to be the last possession you get until 2 1/2 [minutes] left, you probably would say, ‘I would’ve preferred to have Todd get into more of a rhythm and maybe get some touches there,’” McVay said Monday. “There’s nobody to blame there but me.”
McVay also touched on the prospect of possibly featuring a run-heavy approach with Gurley in the coming weeks:
“You’d like to say, ‘Yes.’ But, I can’t always tell you exactly how a game is going to unfold,” McVay said. “You don’t always exactly anticipate, ‘Man, we’re going to have this many efficient plays in a row, so we can really continue to do that.’
“A lot of it is predicated on what the defense is presenting, and what do we feel like the best thing is to attack that?”
McVay has never been one to pass up on the opportunity to hold himself accountable for the shortcomings on offense. Unfortunately, little progress has been made in his efforts to get this offense back to playing at a high level.
Early on, it appeared as though Los Angeles was ready to commit to a strong ground game in
Pittsburgh in order to try and counter their hounding edge rush. Unfortunately, the flow of the game ultimately compelled McVay to shy away from it yet again.
As a result, there will continue to be speculation regarding Gurley’s apparent pitch count heading into the final stretch of the 2019 campaign. At 5-4, the Rams can no longer afford to keep any more tricks up their sleeve and his involvement moving forward will be telling of just how concerned they are with his long-term health.
