Cooper Kupp chases the mark as Rams win

INGLEWOOD (News4usonline) – Isaac Bruce established an all-time single-season mark in receiving yards for the Rams. During the 1995 season, Bruce caught 119 passes for 1,781 yards and 13 touchdowns. His receiving yards are No. 5 in NFL annals for single-season totals and are on the top of the list for the Rams franchise. 

However, by the time the 2021 NFL season concludes, Bruce’s super season may have to take a backseat to what current Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is doing.

After his nine receptions for 136 yards and two scores performance in the Los Angeles Rams’ 20-10 win against the Seattle Seahawks, Kupp is on the verge of doing something special.

Calvin Johnson has the greatest single-season mark when it comes to receiving yards (1,964 yards), but with three games remaining on the Rams’ schedule, Kupp, who now has 1,625 yards on the season,  has a chance to pass the former Detroit Lions star. Kupp, who was voted into his first Pro Bowl, has 122 receptions and 14 touchdowns on the season. 

“He is truly one of the most humble, special players I have ever been around,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “He doesn’t need all the accolades. I think it’s great he gets his first Pro Bowl recognition. I don’t know how he’s not going to be a First Team All-Pro player.”

McVay continued, “I think he’s a legitimate candidate for a lot of awards but he is about our team. He’s interested in leading the right way, making the plays that are instrumental and vital to the outcomes of our team’s success and he does a lot of stuff without the football as well.”

Kupp and Johnson have one common denominator: Matthew Stafford. Stafford, in his first season playing for the Rams, was the quarterback for the Lions at that time serving all of those dimes to Johnson during the 2012 NFL season. He’s doing the same thing now for Kupp.

Stafford said what makes Kupp special is that he is not just good at one thing.

“Every receiver is different, you know? I think (WR) Cooper (Kupp) does a great job of understanding what the defense is doing,” remarked Stafford. “He’s as smart of a guy I’ve played with at that position. And then he’s got a ton of skills. He’s 6’2, 205 pounds or whatever he is, 210 pounds.

“He’s strong. He’s got better long speed than people give him credit for. Catches everything. Just kind of what you want in a receiver. He does a little bit of everything really well and just turns into a really great player.”

Since their emotional win against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 13, the news around the Rams has been everything but great. With more than two dozen players subjected to the NFL’s health and safety protocols list, the Rams have had to scramble to see if they would even have a game to play in the first place.

The team was forced to shut down its practice facility for several days as it worked in getting a handle on players being eligible to play. That meant Zoom meetings and doing isolated drills. McVay was asked Sunday if being away from each other would bond his players even closer together.      

“I think so,” McVay said. “I think anytime that your back’s against the wall and you have to work through some adversity, it forces guys to bond tighter than you had before. And I absolutely think that’s true. I don’t think it’s a cliche in the least bit.”

McVay continued, “I think you can use those experiences as powerful moments to build momentum in the right way and show that there (are) opportunities to overcome, guys get an opportunity to step up. I think in those situations and scenarios players like (QB) Matthew Stafford are not necessarily asked to do more, but there’s more weight on their shoulders, which is something that they’re more than capable of being able to handle.”

Well, after much uncertainty and delays, the Rams made it to the field. A win against the Seahawks would go a long way to solidify a playoff berth for Los Angeles, which came into the game needing a victory to tie Arizona for first place in the division.

The Rams played the game against the Seahawks on Tuesday without some of their starters at SoFi Stadium in an ultra-important NFC West Division contest. With the activations of practice squad players, Los Angeles made it work as far as getting key player personnel out on the field.

The two key stats coming into this game was the 7-3 winning record McVay had against Seattle coach Pete Carroll and the 14 sacks Aaron Donald had recorded against Russell Wilson.

Donald, who was voted to the Pro Bowl for the eighth time in his career, has more sacks of Wilson than any other quarterback in the league. And without question, with Donald being the quarterback terror against Wilson, that has had implications on McVay’s success against Carroll.

Both Donald and McVay’s numbers improved with the team’s 10th win (10-4) on the season. McVay is now 8-3 all-time against Carroll. Donald picked up sack No. 15 in the Rams’ win. 

The Rams came into this game with a 26-17 Week 5 win against Seattle under their belts. A sweep of the Seahawks and the Rams likely punch their ticket to the postseason. First, the Rams had to contend with a Seattle team going on full spoiler alert as they sit at the bottom of the NFC West. 

In that first game, the Rams put up just three points in the first half before rolling out 23 points in the third and fourth quarters to come away with the road win. The second time around was pretty much the same as the first half goes.

This was a defensive battle through the first two quarters with both teams walking into the locker room knotted at 3-3. Despite going 14 of 20 for 138 yards, Stafford was sacked twice and threw a drive-ending interception in that first half.

And with that, Stafford and the Rams had to play catch up in the third quarter after Wilson and the Seahawks took their opening drive to the house to take a 10-3 lead with little over nine minutes remaining in the period.

Like the earlier game played in the season, though, the Rams rallied. This time around, the Rams put up 17 points in the second half to pull away from Seattle. The loss means that Wilson and the Seahawks are 5-9 on the season and are on the outside looking in for postseason play. 

“It’s definitely disappointing,” Wilson said. “I think that the season’s been tough just in general with everything going on with everyone and just life. There’s a lot of real situations out there going on, you know, and COVID… I think for us, the only thing that we can do is get ready for tomorrow, wake up tomorrow and give everything we have. That’s what our job is to do, to wake up and give everything we have every day. That’s all I know.” 

Featured Image Caption: Rams in the tunnel. Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline