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Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin dominate as Rams upset Cardinals

When you draft a player in the top 10, he needs to be a big impact guy.

Did the St. Louis Rams discover a pair of them on Sunday, in a 24-22 upset over the previously undefeated Arizona Cardinals?

We all figured running back Todd Gurley would emerge as one when he was healthy, and that day was Sunday. Gurley had 2 yards on four carries in the first half, then ended up with his first career 100-yard game in the second half alone. His two first-down runs in the final two minutes sealed the victory. The Rams didn't rush Gurley back from an ACL injury suffered last season at Georgia. Gurley was still the 10th pick of the draft despite the injury because of the talent he flashed against the Cardinals. He ended up with 146 rushing yards. No need to worry any more about how many carries Gurley might get; on Sunday he showed he's ready to be the Rams' featured back. Probably for many years to come.

The Rams also thought Tavon Austin could be a great playmaker when they took him eighth overall in 2013, and he has had moments. But mostly, he has been a disappointment considering his draft status. But with the Rams big underdogs on Sunday, Austin showed up big. He had 96 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and added 20 rushing yards. His 12-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter put the Rams up 24-15.

The Rams are up and down, but now they've beaten the Seattle Seahawks and Cardinals and sit at 2-2. We shouldn't expect them to continue to be consistent the rest of the season because they've teased us before. But maybe if those two top-10 picks continue to be huge playmakers? That might change things for St. Louis.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!