The yearly awards handed out by the Associated Press will be unveiled during the NFL Honors show at 9 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC. Several members of the Los Angeles Rams stand as legitimate candidates, perhaps even favorites. That’s what happens when you finish with an 11-5 record and a plus-149 point differential. This week, while waiting for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots to face off in Super Bowl LII, we’ll take a closer look at those Rams candidates. The series concludes with the most hotly contested subject among them: Todd Gurley and the AP’s Most Valuable Player Award.
Numbers: Gurley led the NFL with 2,093 scrimmage yards and 19 touchdowns, six more than anybody else. He rushed for 1,305 yards (second behind the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Kareem Hunt) and caught for 788 yards (second behind the New Orleans Saints‘ Alvin Kamara among running backs). Gurley became the third player in NFL history to finish a season with 2,000 scrimmage yards, 10 rushing touchdowns and more than five receiving touchdowns, joining Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and O.J. Simpson.
Defining moment: It came, fittingly, at CenturyLink Field, home to the division-rival Seattle Seahawks, in what was basically a must-win game on Dec. 17. The Rams were already ahead 27-0 with only seconds remaining before halftime, and then Gurley took a handoff up the middle and accelerated past the Seahawks’ entire defense for a 57-yard touchdown. It was the final blow in a game that all but locked up the NFC West for the Rams and, in a bigger sense, might have signaled a changing of the guard in the division.
Why he should win: That touchdown run against the Seahawks was the signature play of a dominant late-season stretch by Gurley. In his final three regular-season games, against the Seahawks, Eagles and Tennessee Titans — the three games that clinched the Rams’ first playoff appearance in 13 years — Gurley gained 591 scrimmage yards and scored eight touchdowns. Despite sitting out the regular-season finale, he accumulated 343 touches, third-most in the NFL. Gurley carried a significant load for an offense that led the NFL in points, and he dominated when his team needed him most.
Why he wouldn’t: A quarterback has won MVP in nine of the past 10 seasons, and this year there’s an ideal candidate at that position. Tom Brady led the NFL with 4,577 passing yards and led his Patriots to the Super Bowl. He is the first quarterback with 32 touchdown passes and 13 wins at the age of 40, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and he is considered an overwhelming favorite because of it. It takes a transcendent season for a non-quarterback to win this award (Adrian Peterson ran for 2,097 yards in 2012, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 28 touchdowns in 2006). The key question is whether Gurley had a greater impact on his team than arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, and that’s no easy answer.
Quotable: “MVP, for sure. If he don’t win it, there’s something wrong.” — Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, when asked about Gurley’s dominance after a Week 16, playoff-clinching victory over the Titans.
(Previous: Cooper Kupp and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year; Jared Goff and AP Comeback Player of the Year; Sean McVay and AP Coach of the Year; Donald and AP Defensive Player of the Year)