THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Every week this season, Todd Gurley wondered if it might be the one when he finally broke out and ran free again. And every week this season, the Los Angeles Rams’ star running back was left disappointed.

“I’ve been waiting for that one game, every game,” Gurley said after Friday’s practice, two days before his season wraps up against the Arizona Cardinals from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “You just have to trust in the process.”

The process has been a frustrating one.

Gurley, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, has not rushed for more than 85 yards through the first 15 games of his sophomore season. Dating to last year, he has fallen below 100 rushing yards in 22 of his past 23 games. This season, while playing behind a suspect offensive line and within a non-threatening passing attack, Gurley has the NFL’s third-fewest rushing yards per carry (3.2) and second-fewest average yards before first contact (1.6).

“I found myself a couple of times, the last couple of games, getting a little frustrated,” Gurley said. “But if you’re not getting frustrated, then I don’t think you have the passion for the game. Just me not being content with myself and just knowing that I feel like I can do better as a player. As a team, I know we can do better.”

That is a crucial task – perhaps the most crucial task – for the Rams’ new head coach, whoever that might be. Gurley was drafted 10th overall out of Georgia in 2015, then torched defenses in his first four NFL starts after recovering from a torn MCL, totaling 566 yards and three touchdowns. After that, opponents began to stack the box and cheat against the run, daring the Rams to beat them through the air. And Gurley has been suffocated.

Since Week 8 of the 2015 season, Gurley is averaging 3.6 yards per carry, dead last among the 15 players who have run the ball at least 300 times in that stretch.

“Every year is not going to be the year,” Gurley said. “I can’t judge myself off what I did last year because that was last year and this is a new year, a whole different team.”

Gurley learned that lesson through struggle. He entered 2016, the Rams’ first season back in Southern California, with an outside expectation of becoming the new star of L.A. Now that he was fully healthy, and two years removed from a catastrophic knee injury, this was the year many thought Gurley would ascend to the top of his game. But 15 running backs have gained more yards, even though Gurley has more carries than all but five.

Through that, his patience and decision-making as a runner have been questioned.

“I think, in a real twisted way, it’s really good for a coach or a player that’s been successful to have to go through a tough time, and kind of see really what they’re made of and see how they respond to either the critique, or lack of production from what they’re used to,” Rams interim coach John Fassel said. “… How do we respond to the tough time, and can we bounce back? I think he’s handled it really well, and I think it’ll be good for him going forward to go into the offseason with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder and a little extra hunger, rather than coming off a lot of accolades.”

Before that happens, Gurley has a chance to somewhat salvage a lost season.

With 155 rushing yards in Sunday’s finale, he’ll reach 1,000. It’s a noteworthy accomplishment, even though Gurley rushed for 1,106 in only 12 starts last season.

“My mindset is still the same – just to go out there this weekend and try to give it my all,” Gurley said. “If we could make something happen this weekend, it would definitely be a good feeling.”