By all accounts, LA Rams Stafford to Cooper Kupp still deadly accurate

The best duo in the NFL, period

Is there really any argument over who is the better NFL duo right now? Seriously? While you can slice and dice statistics to tell almost any story that you wish to portray, I don’t think there is any mathematical prestidigitation going on with this simple statement. The LA Rams duo of QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp is the best duo in the NFL.

There simply is no better offensive weapon in the NFL right now than Cooper Kupp. And Matthew Stafford was among the Top-3 passer in virtually all categories, despite throwing to a virtual chorus line of receivers in the 2021 NFL season beyond Kupp and Jefferson.

Has that brilliance of their 2021 NFL season faded away already? Or have we grown so timid that we are unwilling to continue to applaud what is nothing short of NFL greatness? Is there some expectation that if we acknowledge just how historically significant their combined efforts were in 2021, they will be less likely to deliver a similar performance in 2022?

Manning Broncos’ debut was dwarfed by year two

I can’t see it. Kupp and Stafford are cut from the same bolt of cloth. Now that they have set a very high bar for their own personal performances, they will be even more determined to best that performance this year. While that will be a truly high bar for Cooper Kupp, it was clear that he had more potential. And as far as Stafford? He could easily surpass 5000 yards and perhaps even flirt with 50 touchdowns in a single season.

When Peyton Manning moved to the Denver Broncos, he put up the best numbers in his career in 2013, the second season with the Broncos. In that year, Peyton Manning set NFL All-Time Single-Season Passing Records for passing touchdowns (55) and for passing yards (5,477). Could Stafford threaten those records this year? In his first year with the Broncos, Manning passed for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns.  Stafford’s first year with the Rams?  He passed for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns. So yes, it’s possible. And Stafford will benefit from an extra regular-season game.

Stock up on your best tailgate morsels and thirst-quenchers folks. This could be one time where the sequel is better than the original.