Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp on Sunday against Houston Texans became the first player in the Super Bowl era with 900+ receiving yards and 10+ receiving touchdowns in the first eight games of a season. Throughout the season, Kupp has been smashing the NFL record books.
The 2017 third-round pick by the Rams already has 918 yards and 10 touchdowns in just seven and a half games. The Davis graduate and former Eastern Washington star led the NFL in catches, yards and touchdowns this season and no one finished a season atop all three receiving categories since Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith accomplished the feat in 2005.
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Kupp’s season has been aided by his budding connection with quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kupp collected a season-high 10 catches for 156 yards against the Detroit Lions last week, following a nine-catch, 130-yard performance against the New York Giants the week before.
Kupp scored twice in each game for the 6-1 Rams, something he has done four times this season.
With 10 TDs, Kupp has already tied his career-high from 2019, and will need eight more for the Rams record set by Elroy Hirsch in 1951. The NFL’s first year with a 17-game schedule could help Kupp as he chases the NFL records of 1,964 yards by Calvin Johnson in 2012 and 23 touchdowns by Randy Moss in 2007.
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Because the Rams haven’t employed their big two tight-end configuration as often this season, some of the higher output might be due to more time on the field, according to Craig Kupp, father of Cooper. Kupp was typically forced to the sideline as a result of this, but he’s played wide receiver, slot receiver, and even ran routes out of the backfield for the Rams this season.
In four games, he has over 100 yards receiving and has never had fewer than five receptions or 64 yards receiving. In Los Angeles’ lone loss, both of those figures occurred against Arizona.
