The Rams may be winning, but the team's offensive glitches have persisted and one of their most valuable weapons is being underutilized.
Los Angeles coach Sean McVay took the blame Monday as he confirmed running back Todd Gurley is not on a load management program after dealing with a knee injury last season.
"No, we’re not doing anything like it," McVay said, per the Los Angeles Times. "It’s more along the lines of, each week presents a different approach. It’s kind of the feel of the flow of the game. We want to get Todd involved. I’d like to do better of being able to give him a chance to get more into a rhythm than I’ve enabled him to do these first three games."
Gurley had 14 carries for 43 yards in Sunday's 20-13 win at Cleveland after logging 63 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts last week and 97 yards on 14 attempts in Week 1. Those numbers are down significantly from 2018, when Gurley led the league with 21 touchdowns as he rushed for 1,251 yards and added 580 yards receiving.
But even though Gurley's career-high 89.4 rushing yards per game last year has dipped to 67.7 rushing yards per contest this season, McVay wants to give the All-Pro a chance to build some better consistency.
"I have to do better about being able to give him a chance to really get more into a rhythm than what I've enabled him to do in these first three games," he said.
Added McVay: "I think it’s worked out good in terms of the balance, but I think there’s some things that you’d like to do a lot better job of giving Todd an opportunity to really get going. Yesterday, I didn’t really represent that chance for him."
That stability is thanks to fellow running back Malcolm Brown, who has rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries this season.
The Rams (3-0) will look to stay perfect as they include Gurley more when they host the Buccaneers (1-2) at 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday.