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Cooper Kupp explodes for 120 total yards in season-opener loss to Lions
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Cooper Kupp explodes for 120 total yards in season-opener loss to Lions

On Friday, the veteran wideout said it had been “a while” since he started a season as healthy as he has. He proved it on Sunday night, with 14 catches, 110 receiving yards and a touchdown, plus 10 rushing yards for good measure. He was targeted on 42.9 percent of Stafford’s pass attempts, but the Rams could not pull out a win, falling to the Lions 26-20 in overtime.

It was the 32nd 100-yard receiving game of Kupp’s illustrious career, and his first since December 17 of last year. His 14 catches tied his single-game career high, and it marked the 12th time in his career that he caught at least 10 balls.

Kupp was the motion man quite a bit throughout the night, as the Rams utilized pre-snap motion on most of their offensive plays. According to Next Gen Stats, Kupp was in motion on 42 snaps, which included 12 touches, the most of any player in a game over the past seven seasons.

Stafford was able to learn defensive coverage using this move, and he and Kupp took advantage of it. Kupp would set up defensive zones in the middle of the field and run our routes all game along the sideline while Stafford peppered him with passes.

“That’s what I’ve seen in practice,” Stafford said of Kupp. “That’s who I know he is. … I’d like to see what his yardage was today. … We’re asking him to move everywhere and do a lot of things, both in the pass game and the run game, and he’s really running that space well.”

To answer Stafford’s question, Next Gen Stats tracked Kupp as rushing for 436 total yards in the pre-snap motion, the second-most yards in a game by a player since 2018. He ranks second only to himself through Week 14 of 2023.

It wasn’t all short outs and hitch routes, though; Kupp’s route-running skills were on full display. On the Rams’ second drive of the second half, Kupp tripped rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold on a comeback route that went for 21 yards.