Duo of Todd Gurley, Malcolm Brown works wonders for Rams in Week 1 victory

Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown came up big for the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 to help defeat the Carolina Panthers 30-27.

For months, Los Angeles Rams fans have been anxious to see how the backfield would look during the 2019 season since the team was expected to take a different approach with Todd Gurley while using Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson more.

After struggling the way he did in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl, the Rams made it clear early on in the offseason they would be taking a different approach with Gurley moving forward to avoid making his knee situation worse.

While Los Angeles deserves some credit for making sure they didn’t overwork Gurley over the last couple of months by keeping the running back to a strict workout schedule, it was still frustrating at times since no one really knew what to expect during a meaningful game.

In previous seasons, Gurley was always considered a workhorse that seemed capable of being on the field for every play if Sean McVay would allow him, but clearly this approach could no longer be valid.

With the Rams kicking off the new season on the road in a tough battle against the Carolina Panthers, all eyes were on Gurley to see if there were still any complications from the knee that was clearly an issue in the winter.

At first, there were some concerns over Gurley struggling in a similar way to last season, but luckily the Rams watched him turn things around, and eventually finish with a strong performance against the Panthers after rushing for 97 yards on 14 carries.

Even more exciting for Los Angeles, not only would Gurley’s impressive play help the Rams hang on for the 30-27 victory, but the offense also saw Brown come through in a big way by rushing for 53 yards on 11 carries to go along with two trips into the end zone.

Back in the offseason when the Rams matched Brown’s offer from the Detroit Lions, this seemed like more of an insurance decision in case things failed to work out with Gurley.

But if Los Angeles could see Gurley and Brown put together more performances like Sunday moving forward, the Rams could quickly see a new dynamic duo at running back on the rise.

Not to mention, Los Angeles recently used a third-round pick on Henderson, meaning the Rams have a few good options to help take some of the pressure off Gurley.

One game certainly doesn’t determine how a season will be for a team like the Rams, but this was the kind of performance the offense needed to see from Gurley and Brown after all of the questions from the last couple of months.

With Los Angeles hosting the New Orleans Saints in their home opener next weekend, here’s to hoping the Rams see a similar performance from their running back duo, if not better, to put the team in better position for a 2-0 start.