Rams' McVay expects RB Gurley to play

[December 20, 2018]  Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals' opposing quarterback this week, Los Angeles Rams third-year pro Jared Goff, knows all too well about the rookie struggles Josh Rosen is going through on a team that hasn't given him much support. "Every experience -- positive, negative and in between -- will be valuable for you in the future," Goff said of his rough rookie year. "That's something that I tried to take away when I was going through a similar situation. And just understand that there is a light at the end of the tunnel." Rosen remains upbeat despite many down moments in his first year. "I think mistakes are valuable," he said. "You want to minimize them, but more importantly, you don't want to make them twice. I've made plenty of them this year, and hopefully I'm for the most part not making the same mistakes twice, just finding new ones to make."

Los Angeles Rams: The Rams held only a walkthrough on Wednesday, but running back Todd Gurley would not have participated had it been a regular session. That said, head coach Sean McVay still expects the NFL's touchdown leader to play Sunday against the Cardinals. "I think he's making good progress," McVay said. "It's still earlier in the week, but I think he's feeling good. Came in, was feeling better today. So that's good news." Reserve back Justin Davis (shoulder) also was a nonparticipant Wednesday, providing extra incentive to get recently signed veteran C.J. Anderson incorporated. "Very sharp, cerebral player," McVay said of Anderson. "It's going to be good to be able to get him in here, get him up to speed as quickly as possible."

Rams running back Todd Gurley II (30) runs in for a touchdown during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco 49ers: Head coach Kyle Shanahan sees a little bit of his own schematic approach in this week's opponent, the Chicago Bears -- not in their offense, but in Vic Fangio's defense. "Vic's just unique in that everything is tied together," Shanahan said. "Whatever you think you have on him, it could be good, but they have a counter off of it. It's very, very similar to our offense. There's a scheme you've got to run to stop a certain play. Whatever scheme you do to stop that play, you opened up another play. That's really how their defense is. ... So, you've just got to keep playing the game within the game." Fangio, of course, was the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2011-14. The Bears are 1-2 against the Niners since Fangio moved to Chicago.

Seattle Seahawks: Every team is banged up late in the season, but the Seahawks have a particularly lengthy injury report, with 10 players missing Wednesday's practice -- including sack leaders Frank Clark (12) and Jarran Reed (8.5) -- and four more limited. Head coach Pete Carroll said safety Bradley McDougald will be away from the team rehabbing during the week and "possibly" has a chance to play Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. On the plus side, linebacker K.J. Wright was back practicing for the first time since Week 10 and has a good shot to play. "Really excited about him getting the chance to get back out there, of course," Carroll said, "and he looks so good on the field. He's a monster out there."

--Field Level Media

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