Todd Gurley still has plenty to prove with Rams following Week 1

Todd Gurley helped Los Angeles Rams pull off the 30-27 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

After months of anticipation, and taking the proper approach with his workouts, Todd Gurley finally suited up for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday for their Week 1 contest against the Carolina Panthers.

Despite the Rams doing their best this offseason to stick to a strict workout plan surrounding Gurley, and feeling confident enough that it would pay off, most fans tried to contain their excitement until they actually saw the star running back on the football field.

That’s where Sunday’s game on the road against the Panthers came into play, as the fans that have been anxious to see how Gurley would look in a meaningful game would finally get to see him in action.

At first, Gurley showed similar signs to this past winter in which he struggled in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl after rushing for just eight yards on six carries in the first half against Carolina.

In what wasn’t a surprise at all, plenty of Rams fans started to hit the panic button over the thought of Gurley’s knee continuing to be an issue, and the offense wouldn’t be as dominant as it usually was without the running back being able to play at a high level.

But thanks to Gurley putting together a strong performance in the fourth quarter to help Los Angeles pull off the 30-27 victory over Carolina, this is the perfect example of how it’s not always how a player starts, but finishes a game.

The fact that Gurley ended the game with 97 yards with 14 carries made some of the Rams doubters feel a little better over the running back’s situation, but also keep in mind this was only one game.

Just because Gurley finished Sunday’s game on a strong note doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to be good to go each week since the Rams star still has plenty to prove over the next few months.

For most of his career, Gurley has been described as an absolute workhorse in the backfield for Los Angeles, but the team made it clear early on in the offseason that he would see a lighter load in 2019 as a result of what took place this past winter.

The last thing the Rams can afford to do is overwork Gurley to the point where his knee situation somehow becomes worse, and watching Malcolm Brown (53 rushing yards with two scores on 11 carries) step up the way he did in Week 1 certainly helps the situation.

If Los Angeles continues to use a similar approach to Sunday moving forward in which Gurley shares carries with Brown (or even Darrell Henderson), this will make the offseason approach seem well worth it.

Until then, the best thing Rams fans can do is be happy with the way things played out on Sunday, and hope there aren’t any setbacks over the next couple of weeks, because Gurley still has a long way to go from a proving perspective.