LA Rams Cooper Kupp will suit up for playoffs

The LA Rams have officially removed WR Kupp from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. He’s back.

The LA Rams offense will get a desperately needed boost as they welcome back WR Cooper Kupp to the active 53-man roster. For an offense that has been hard-pressed to score points in the latter part of the season, the return of a dangerous receiver for the Rams is a huge boost. Not only does he bring desperately needed production to the offense, but he is the go-to guy when the Rams need to move the chains. Right now, the Rams will definitely need to move the chains.

The Seattle Seahawks defense struggled early in the season. But they did two things to improve the play of their defense. For starters, the Seahawks traded a 2021 seventh-round pick and offensive lineman B.J. Finney to the Cincinnati Bengals for defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

Secondly, the Seahawks transformed how they used safety Jamal Adams, and began to use him in more of a hybrid linebacker/defensive back role. Adams leads the Seahawks in sacks but has recorded two-thirds of the total in the last half of the season.

Time of possession critical

In both games against the Seattle Seahawks, the LA Rams did win the battle of time of possession. During their first game, the Rams controlled the clock for 33:36 to the Seahawks 26:24. In their second meeting, the Rams once more dominated in the time of possession, racking up 32:50 to the Seahawks’ 27:10.  In both games, that contributed mightily to holding the Seahawks’ offense to about half of their average points per game.

In both games, the Rams leaned heavily upon WR Cooper Kupp. While Kupp did not score in either game, he was vital to moving the chains. In the first game, Kupp caught eight of nine passes for 66 yards. In the second, Kupp hauled in five of seven passes for 50 yards.  In two games, Kupp came down with 13 completions out of 16 targets for 116 yards. That’s a pretty good production.

Of course, scoring is critical as well. In the first game, the Rams were able to move the ball through the air. But when it came time to put points on the board, the Rams geared down and ran the ball into the end zone three times. With Kupp’s return, look for the Rams to test the endzone at least once with a pass thrown in his direction. Whoever is under center, the Rams quarterback will be looking for Cooper Kupp throughout the game.