INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp's decorated 2021 season has added more milestones.
Kupp finished with eight catches for 129 yards and one touchdown to help the Rams defeat the Jaguars 37-7 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. In the process, he hit 100 receptions on the season (a new career-high), 11 receiving touchdowns (also a new career-high) and became the third Rams wide receiver to collect 100 or more catches in a single season, joining Isaac Bruce (119 in 1995) and Torry Holt (117 in 2003; 102 in 2005).
Kupp also set a new franchise record with his eighth-straight game of seven more or receptions and tied Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Elroy Hirsch's single season record (1951) with his eighth-consecutive game of 90 or more receiving yards.
The bulk of that production on Sunday came in the second half, with 107 of those 129 yards coming in across the third and fourth quarters and in key moments.
He hauled in a 43-yard pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford that eventually led to a 29-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to him on the Rams' first offensive series of the second half. Receptions of 8 and 19 yards midway through the third quarter progressed a drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to wide receiver Van Jefferson. For good measure, he hauled in an 8-yard pass from Stafford for a conversion on 3rd-and-2, that, along with a roughing the passer penalty against the Jaguars, kept alive the Rams drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Beckham.
All told, he directly affected each of Los Angeles' three second-half scoring drives that grew their lead to 30 and quickly put the game out of Jacksonville's reach.
"I mean, he does everything right, you know?" Stafford said postgame. "I don't know, people probably watch him on TV and think he's 5'10 and runs 4.6 and all that kind of stuff. He's 6'2, 210, and runs great. He's got a great feel for the game. He's a great competitor. He understands the game. He does everything right. He leads that receiver group in the right way, so I pinch myself every day. Just happy I get a chance to play with a guy like that. I have a lot of respect for how he goes about his business and how he goes about attacking each opportunity, whether it be practice or games. And then he's great on game day. Run after the catch, getting open versus man, feeling voids versus zone. He's got a great feel for the game of football."
Told he reached 100 receptions during his postgame press conference, Kupp said he wasn't aware he had reached that mark, but was just happy they got the victory.
That will always be the case, no matter how many catches he gets. If he had finished with the three catches for 22 yards he had in the first half – which led to a field goal by kicker Matt Gay and gave the Rams a 16-7 halftime lead in an eventual victory – he would've be been satisfied.
Ultimately, his production led to a win, and that's all that matters.
"Glad we got a W, that's the goal at the end of the day," Kupp said. "If it means 10 catches a game, two catches a game, it doesn't really matter – I just want to be a part of producing, be a part of moving our team forward, being a positive for us."
