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Jared Goff must prove he’s not an extension of Todd Gurley

By Erik Lambert

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 24: Todd Gurley #30 and Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams look on before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 24: Todd Gurley #30 and Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams look on before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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People have loved to showed Jared Goff with praise for the year he’s had with the Los Angeles Rams, collecting his second-straight Pro Bowl.

There’s no denying he’s put together some excellent games in 2018. He has thrown for 4,273 yards with 27 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. On paper that’s a great year. However, the past couple of weeks have easily been his worst stretch since his rookie season two years ago. So what’s the problem. There are a number of explanations from poor pass protection to not having key receiver Cooper Kupp at his disposal.

There is another explanation though. Todd Gurley isn’t playing well. If one were to look back through the past two years, they’d find out an interesting correlation between Goff’s effectiveness and Gurley’s impact. Since the beginning of 2017, Gurley has rushed for less than 50 yards in a game a total of six times. In those games, Goff has thrown just two touchdowns to a whopping eight interceptions. He has a 51-to-11 ratio when Gurley tops that number.

In other words, Goff has proven he’s not exactly capable of carrying the offense on his own without the aid of his star running back. That could make the final two weeks problematic.

Gurley knee injury puts his quarterback under the microscope

The All-Pro running back has said he plans to play Sunday but the team remains adamant that he’s a game-time decision. Either way, it’s been apparent that Gurley hasn’t played like himself the past two weeks. Even if he does go, there’s a strong chance he may not be able to carry the load like he’s used to. This will put a further onus on Goff to do his job as the franchise quarterback most believe he is.

Therein lay a big problem For all their struggles in 2018, the Arizona Cardinals do have one thing going for them. They have the #5 pass defense in the NFL. Their pass rush has racked up 41 sacks and the combo of Tre Boston and Patrick Peterson have five interceptions. They may be only a three-win team but they’ve played a lot of opponents tough. No doubt they’ll be looking to play spoiler to the team that crushed them 34-0 earlier in the year.

Goff will have to be the one who prevents that from happening.

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