LA Rams WR Cooper Kupp’s Triple Crown puts him in MVP discussion

Week 18 certainly was a mixed bag for the LA Rams organization, a bit of a silver lining.  The team mounted a spirited first-half effort in a game against their NFC West nemesis the San Francisco 49ers but ended the game in the second half by being outscored 24-7 in the second half. The LA Rams lost in overtime.

Although a tough overtime loss, the game continued to showcase the MVP type of season from LA Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp. He not only continued his streak of putting up over 90+ yards in a game, but he was active in blocking throughout the game. Not just rubs, meaningful full-on blocks.

And just as promised, there is a silver lining. Thanks to the Seattle Seahawks defeat of the Arizona Cardinals, the LA Rams were able to maintain a one-game lead over them and won the NFC West Division Title. But there is more. The LA Rams ended a five-game winning streak which, if repeated, will carry them all the way to a Super Bowl victory.  From a 7-4 record, the LA Rams finished the year at 12-5.

Kupp blew out the competition in 2021

Even as the LA Rams had a successful 12-5 season, have won the NFC West Division title, and are now preparing to face the dangerous Arizona Cardinals in the Wildcard Round of the NFL Playoffs, we don’t want to gloss over an important achievement. Cooper Kupp had a phenomenal season. Seriously, one for the record books. In fact, he has written his name in both the Rams Franchise and NFL All-Time Single-Season receiver record books.

This was an odd season. There was not a lot of talk about the fact that Cooper Kupp was consistently great through the entire 2021 NFL season. Out of 17 regular-season games, Kupp failed to get 90+ receiving yards just once the entire season. In Week 4, Kupp caught five of 13 passes for 64 yards, his worst outing of the entire year. For the year, he caught an incredible 75.9 percent of the passes thrown his way.

Now, keep in mind that from the moment that Robert Woods went down to injury in Week 9, quarterback Matthew Stafford has been throwing to very young receivers or newly acquired veterans who were tossed into the mix on the fly. In short, Kupp was the primary focus of some of the best NFL secondaries and defensive backs today, and he still smoked them all.