The Los Angeles Rams were fully committed to running the ball against the Dallas Cowboys, racking up 273 yards on the ground. Against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the rushing attack wasn’t nearly as potent with both C.J. Anderson and Todd Gurley struggling.

Gurley’s usage was particularly puzzling, carrying it just four times for 10 yards and a touchdown. The Rams opted to use Anderson more often than Gurley, which left Twitter puzzled, to say the least.

Entering the fourth quarter, Gurley had just three carries in the game and didn’t get a single touch in the entire third quarter. After the game, Sean McVay explained the thought behind Gurley’s lack of involvement in the biggest game of the year.

“It was a flow for the game. I thought Todd’s run from the 5 on the two-minute drive was outstanding. I think what personifies Todd is this is an MVP-caliber player and he just kept fighting, he just kept supporting his teammates,” McVay said. “He’s going to have an instrumental role against whoever we play, whether it be the Patriots or the Chiefs. Today, that was just kind of the feel for the flow of the game. Not anything against Todd. C.J. did a nice job, but I think (the Saints) did a nice job as a whole slowing down our run game and we kind of just had to grind some things out. Todd’s a special player and couldn’t be more impressed with the way that he handled himself and he ended up making a big-time play that ended up in us winning that football game today.”

So Gurley wasn’t injured, nor was he in the doghouse for dropping two passes early in the game, one of which resulted in an interception. It was just a matter of McVay preferring Anderson, which makes this situation even more confusing.

Gurley has more touches, yards and touchdowns than any player in the NFL the last two years, but the Rams opted to go away from him in the biggest game of the season. No matter the decision, it wound up working out because the Rams came away victorious.