McVay attributes Gurley's lack of playoff carries to game flow
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay adhered to a familiar script Tuesday, insisting Todd Gurley's reduced role in the postseason wasn't related to an injury.
"I think the ideal scenario that we had gone into the playoffs with was what you saw in Dallas, where it was both (Gurley and C.J. Anderson) getting involved," McVay told reporters as the Rams cleared out their lockers.
Gurley averaged just 10.6 carries over his final five games of the season, including three playoff tilts. He received 19.4 carries over the first 12 games of the campaign. He missed two contests at the end of the regular season due to a knee injury, which is when the Rams signed Anderson.
Both McVay and Gurley insisted throughout the playoffs that the running back wasn't physically limited. The Pro Bowler rushed for 35 yards on 10 attempts in the Rams' 13-3 Super Bowl LIII loss to the New England Patriots.
"We had gone into the game saying we wanted to get both guys involved, and then as a result of us not being quite as efficient or being able to convert on those third downs, it just limits those (opportunities)," McVay said.
Gurley, oddly, played second fiddle to Anderson throughout the playoffs. He ran just four times for 10 yards and a touchdown in the NFC championship and took seven fewer handoffs than Anderson in the divisional round.
McVay said he isn't aware of any surgery on the offseason docket for Gurley, who declined to speak with the media before exiting the team facility for the offseason.