Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley does not look right.
In six games, Gurley has rushed for 311 yards and five touchdowns while averaging a meager 3.8 yards per carry. He also hasn't been a consistent threat in the passing game, logging 15 catches for 81 yards and a score.
This is the same guy who racked up 1,251 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground last season, registering 4.9 yards per attempt in the process. In addition, he hauled in 59 receptions for 580 yards and four scores, making the Pro Bowl and earning a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Yes, that's the same guy…but it may not be the same running back.
Gurley missed the final two games of last season due to a knee injury, an injury that clearly limited him in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
And now, here we are, almost eight full weeks into the 2019 NFL campaign, and we don't have much evidence that Gurley is feeling any better.
Since Week 1, when Gurley toted the ball 14 times for an efficient 97 yards, he has posted under four yards per carry in each of his next five games and also sat out Week 6 due to a quad injury.
Most recently, Gurley carried the ball 18 times for 41 yards in a win over the Atlanta Falcons.
He just does not look the same, and we are about to find out this weekend if there is any chance of Gurley regaining his old form.
Why? Because the Rams are about to take on the Cincinnati Bengals, a Bengals team that is allowing a league-worst 189 rushing yards per game this season.
Cincinnati was gashed by Leonard Fournette for 131 yards last week. Lamar Jackson hung 152 on them in Week 6. Kyler Murray, David Johnson and Chase Edmonds combined to go for 252 against them three weeks ago.
The list of big-time rushing performances against the Bengals this season goes on and on.
Based on that recent history, this Sunday will serve as a major test for Gurley and will also be a litmus test for Los Angeles moving forward.
If Gurley can't have a huge game against this Cincinnati defense, any glimmer of hope that he will rediscover his old self at any point this season will be almost entirely dashed.
And along with that, the Rams' Super Bowl hopes will be dimmed, as well, because I don't see how LA can win a championship without a healthy Todd Gurley.
When he is right, Gurley is unquestionably a top-five halfback in the NFL. He drives the Rams' whole offense, and it's blatantly obvious.
Jared Goff looks like half the player he was a year ago, and suddenly, Sean McVay does not look like the offensive mastermind that everyone dubbed him over his first couple of seasons.
Is it any coincidence that the declines in both Goff and McVay are coupled with the drop-off in Gurley's production?
Make no mistake about it: Gurley is the most important player on the Rams' offense. As he goes, the Rams go, and if he isn't able to assert himself against a porous Bengals defense, I'm not sure we will ever see him return to his former glory. At least not in 2019.
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