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If you had Todd Gurley on your fantasy team, congratulations. You probably did well for yourself, especially if you also grabbed C.J. Anderson for Weeks 16 and 17. Gurley was a touchdown machine, scoring at least once in 12 of his 14 games this season, with the 54-51 shootout against the Chiefs as a truly bizarre exception. Gurley and Alvin Kamara became the first players to produce three three-touchdown games in a season since DeAngelo Williams in 2008.
Gurley scored a league-high 11 touchdowns inside the 5-yard line, and when you have a back who seems automatic inside the 5, you're naturally going to assume that his team is one of the best red zone offenses in the league. Anderson even added two scores from inside the 5 during his two-game stint with the Rams, which is as many as Ezekiel Elliott had all season in 11 tries for the Cowboys.
For whatever reason, though, the Rams have not been a very good red zone offense this season. As dominant as Gurley was, they ranked 15th in points per red zone trip. To put that in context, the Falcons were 14th, and they just fired offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, in part because of frustration with their performance in the red zone. Last year, McVay's offense was 11th in the same category; good, but certainly not the sort of otherworldly performance you might expect from an offensive juggernaut like the Rams.
How do you sustain a great offense without great red zone work? You get inside the opposing 20 a lot. The Rams have taken 43.7 percent of their possessions to the red zone this season, the highest rate in the league. They were at 36.7 percent last season, which was second behind the Patriots. What they lack in efficiency, they make up in volume. Los Angeles this season scored the second-most points in the red zone behind the Chiefs, who racked up 408 points (assuming a single extra point for a touchdown). The Rams were at 397 points, the Saints were at 381, the Colts were a step behind at 347, and then no other team in the NFL topped 300 red zone points. This is a very limited group.
The Cowboys represent an interesting matchup. They were only 24th in the NFL in keeping opposing teams out of their red zone, but once inside, they held opponents to 4.6 points per red zone trip, which was a more impressive 13th. Can the Rams beat the surging Cowboys with field goals and big plays? Will Gurley be back to his old tricks? We won't know until we see the star back with the ball in his hands Saturday night.
