Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp garnered MVP buzz for his historic run as Matthew Stafford’s go-to target in Los Angeles this season, totaling 1,965 yards from scrimmage to break the NFL’s all-time record for that category by a wideout. On Sunday night, he was electric — and historic — yet again while helping the Rams beat the 49ers to advance to Super Bowl LVI. With 11 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns in L.A.’s 20-17 victory, Kupp surpassed Cowboys Hall of Famer Michael Irvin with his NFL-record 13th 100-yard game of the season, including playoffs.
Entering the divisional round of the playoffs, only Irvin had posted 12 different 100-yard receiving games in a single NFL season, totaling 124 catches for 1,788 yards and 13 scores back in 1995 for the Super Bowl champion Cowboys. Kupp exploded for 183 yards and one touchdown in the Rams’ 30-27 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, however, to tie the all-time mark. His big night against San Francisco, which included several key third-down receptions late in the contest, made him the new record-holder, with a chance to extend the mark to 14 different 100-yard games in Super Bowl LVI.
The 28-year-old Kupp has quickly become one of the most feared pass catchers in the game. The former third-round pick was a frequent target for ex-Rams quarterback Jared Goff fresh out of college, logging 869 yards as a rookie and racing to 566 and six touchdowns in just eight games the following year before suffering a torn ACL. He emerged as a full-time starter with 1,161 yards and 10 TDs in 2019, then logged a modest 92 catches for 974 yards in 2020 before his monster 145-catch, 1,947-yard breakout this season.
Discussion about this post