Super Bowl 53: Which players will have the biggest impact?

Todd Gurley/C.J. Anderson

This might feel a bit like cheating listing two players instead of just one here, but it’s an accurate reflection of the state of the Rams’ backfield heading into Super Bowl 53. One of the top storylines all week has been the health of Los Angeles’ superstar running back Todd Gurley, who swears that he’s not still dealing with the knee soreness that sidelined him for the final two weeks of the regular season.

McVay, Gurley, and the rest of the Rams have written off the running back’s lackluster showing in the NFC Championship Game as having more to do with game flow than ability or health. Gurley himself said he played “sorry,” admitting he’d need a better effort at the Super Bowl, but not lending any credence to rumors or speculation about just how fully-healed he really is.

Regardless, the Rams are going to need someone to spearhead the run game on Sunday… or this game could be over before it ever gets started. The Patriots had a leaky rushing defense for most of the regular season, but they’ve tightened up significantly since the calendar turned to January, holding the Chargers and the Chiefs to less than 100 yards each on the ground in both postseason wins.

If New England can follow suit and make it three straight playoff games holding their opponents under the century mark in rushing yards, the Patriots have a 99% chance to win. Their secondary is just too talented, too disciplined, and too experienced to allow the Rams’ Jared Goff and his receivers to beat them, not without the threat of Gurley or Anderson in the run game spelling defenders and keeping the Pats’ linebackers honest.

That’s why Bill Belichick and Brian Flores need to make stopping the run their No. 1 priority Sunday night. It’s not crazy to think that the Patriots’ defensive braintrust wants to make Goff beat them through their air to win the game. After all, while the former California Golden Bear has excelled in Year 3 of his NFL career (his second under McVay’s tutelage), he’s still a young QB going up against arguably the greatest defensive mind in NFL history, and he’s doing it will all the chips on the table and all the pressure in the world on his shoulders.

McVay (and Goff) would be wise to try and relieve some of that incredible pressure by feeding Gurley and Anderson the ball, and trusting one or both of them to become a true workhorse in Georgia tonight.

Just as the Patriots want to play keep-away with Sony Michel grinding out tough yards and keeping the Rams’ lethal offense sidelined, so too should the Rams want to employ the same strategy: churn up chunk plays with Gurley and Anderson, and keep Tom Brady safely ineffective by planting him on a sideline bench and holding him off the field.