Todd Gurley Talks Falcons, 'Operation Homefront' and More in B/R Exclusive

Atlanta Falcons running back Todd Gurley is doing more than scoring touchdowns in his return to Georgia. 

He's helping make the state a home for military families as well.

Gurley teamed up with Pillsbury and Operation Homefront—a nonprofit organization that helps military families thrive inside their communities—to help bring "The Welcome Home" initiative to the Atlanta area. It will provide rent-free, Atlanta-based transitional homes for military families, and Gurley welcomed Trevor, who is an Air Force aircraft mechanic, along with his wife Brittany and their five-year-old son to their new home.

"Being able to do that with Trevor and Brittany, being able to see the smiles on their faces," Gurley told Bleacher Report when asked what inspired him to join the cause. 

"I think that's the whole deal and what it's about," he continued. "Being able to bring the whole family together and just show the love and for them to have a place to call home. And there's no better way to do that than to come back to Georgia and then be able to do great stuff in the community."

Trevor served for seven years and two deployments and grew up in the Atlanta area. So did Brittany, meaning they will be near their families for the holidays in their rent-free transitional home.

"It's just a no-brainer," Gurley said when discussing working to help military families. "You don't even need to know someone in the military to appreciate what they've done ... It feels good to be able to be at home and then welcome someone home and being able to do that with military families."

Gurley is no stranger to charitable endeavors. He helped establish the Make A Difference Every Day (M.A.D.E.) Foundation to help children through sports, education and community involvement.

He was also part of the NFL's making a game plan to vote campaign along with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle.

Gurley, who said he is a registered voter in Georgia, appeared in one of the commercials and said he was "glued to the TV for three or four days in a row" as the 2020 presidential election unfolded.

"Happiness all over," he said when recognizing Georgia was one of the states in the national spotlight along with Pennsylvania, Nevada and others. "There was definitely something different about this election."

While Gurley has focused on a number of endeavors off the field, his Falcons have hit their stride of late on it following an 0-5 start. They have won three of the last four games following Sunday's victory over the Denver Broncos and still have an opportunity to make some noise in the NFC South with a combined four remaining matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints.

"Just executing and minimizing mistakes," Gurley said when highlighting what has led to the recent success. "Previous weeks we might get penalties on third downs, whether on the offense or the defense. You watch the game [Sunday] and Matt threw two great touchdowns on third down. If we didn't convert on those, you can take those 14 points off the board."

Perhaps most importantly, the Falcons have held on to leads in the fourth quarter during their three recent victories.

That was a problem in the early portion of the year when they blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Dallas Cowboys, blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Chicago Bears and lost to the Detroit Lions on a final drive that was only possible because Gurley accidentally scored instead of running out the clock for a game-winning field goal on the previous possession.

"We've always been up, but we didn't feel comfortable finishing," the three-time Pro Bowler said. "I feel like we're at a point in the season where we're getting comfortable and we know what to expect out of each other being in these situations. We know what to expect, and we know what we need to do."

If that comfort level continues to lead to more wins, the military families Gurley is helping move to the Atlanta area through "The Welcome Home" initiative might just get to watch a late playoff push.