It’s no secret that the four best offenses in the NFL made it to the NFC and AFC Championship games, but you can’t ring up the scoreboard without weapons and Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara are two of the best in the game.
When it comes to all purpose yards, Gurley and Kamara finished at Nos. 5 and 6 in the NFL, respectively. In spite of missing the final two weeks of the season with a sore knee, Gurley finished with 1,831 total yards. Kamara ended his 2018 regular season with an even 1,800 total yards.
Each man acts as both a playmaker and a safety valve in their respective offensem which brings us to a particularly interesting prop bet for your Championship Sunday courtesy of the fine folks at BetDSI.
Who will gain more total yards in the NFC Championship: Todd Gurley or Alvin Kamara?
It’s an intriguing prop for a couple of reasons, namely C.J. Anderson and Mark Ingram. Anderson was signed off the street a month ago and the Rams offense has been absolutely dominant on the ground ever since. Coming into last week’s divisional round match up against the Dallas Cowboys, Rams head coach Sean McVay said he’d use both running backs and he wasn’t kidding.
Related: NFL Betting Guide
Gurley rushed six times for 115 yards and a touchdown. He added two catches for three yards. Anderson had 23 rushes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Anderson’s size, mass and ability to push off tacklers means he’ll get plenty of work once the Rams cross the 10 in the red zone.
Todd Gurley's knee is fine, Sean McVay said. But given time of year, and workload he's had, Gurley will be limited in practice this week.
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 16, 2019
In the Saints’ 20-14 win over the Eagles, Kamara carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards. He caught four passes for 35 yards. Ingram had nine rushes for 52 yards and caught two passes for nine yards.
If this prop was up last week, Gurley’s 118 combined yards would have surpassed Kamara’s 106.
When the two teams met up in the regular season, Gurley had 13 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown and six catches for 11 yards. Kamara was good for 19 carries, 82 yards and a two scores on the ground. He added four catches and 34 yards on the ground. Kamara easily surpassed Gurley on that day.
The man just GLIDES.
Seventy-four yards for @A_kamara6!📺: #LARvsNO Sunday (3:05pm ET) on FOX #NFLPlayoffs #WildPlayWednesday pic.twitter.com/UrxPLu4Kp8
— NFL (@NFL) January 17, 2019
So what are you going to get come Sunday? Are you looking at similar numbers to last week or close to what happened in New Orleans’ 45-35 win back in November?
From where I sit, the safest bet is Kamara. Gurley will do plenty of work with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, make no mistake. But New Orleans is severely depleted in the receiving corps and that makes Kamara all the more valuable sliding out of the backfield on passing downs. You could see both him and Ingram in the game at the same time, with Kamara lined up in the slot or on the outside.
Gurley will make his share of plays, but the Saints have to be prepared for the run attack Los Angeles unleashed on Dallas last week. That means the Rams will likely use a lot of play action and pass the ball. Win or lose, Kamara probably wins the stat battle.
