Todd Gurley voted FedEx Ground Player of the Week

The last time an Atlanta Falcons running back rushed for 100+ yards in a game was week 16 of the 2018 season. Brian Hill had a 60-yard run which helped get him to 115 total rushing yards on 8 carries. That game was against the Carolina Panthers.

Fast forward to 2020 and the Falcons finally have had another running back gain over 100 yards on the ground in a game — his name is Todd Gurley. Due to his performance in Sunday’s loss against the Panthers, Gurley has been voted the FedEx NFL Ground Player of the Week.

A lot of folks have been critical of the Falcons signing Gurley this offseason, mostly due to the unknown about his knee. Through the first five games however, Gurley is doing well and is currently on pace for 1,200 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. On Sunday, Gurley had 14 carries for 121 rushing yards (8,6 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Gurley received 49% of the vote, beating out Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott (38%) and Minnesota Vikings’ Alexander Mattison (13%).

Although he got off to a slow start, Gurley has been rolling of late. Hopefully his 8.6 yards per carry against the Panthers is enough for offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to realize he should be used more on the ground.