INGLEWOOD, Calif. — In his first game back for the Los Angeles Rams since November, Cooper Kupp‘s stat line looked familiar.
Playing for the first time after missing the final eight games of last season with an ankle injury and then injuring his hamstring during training camp and spending the first four weeks of this season on injured reserve, Kupp had eight catches for 118 yards in the Rams’ 23-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
It was his 17th 100-yard receiving game since 2021, tying Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams for the second most in the NFL despite playing 10 fewer games than Adams, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Kupp said it felt good to be back on the field but that when he watches the film, he thinks he’ll see the opportunity for improvement. After catching six passes for 95 yards in the first half, Kupp had just two catches for 23 yards in the second half.
“I think there’s some stuff … just processing, seeing the field, seeing what defenses are doing and then just being able to react to it,” Kupp said. “There’s a few things that I’m sure you’re going to look at tomorrow and just feel like, ‘Man, it’s just going to happen a little bit faster.’ But it did feel good to be out there playing football again.”
Kupp said he thought the Eagles’ defense gave the Rams some opportunities, adding, “Offensively we’ve just got to capitalize.”
“But man, it felt like it was right there, right there for us,” Kupp said. “Just got to go watch this film, execute just a little bit better and make a few more plays. And I think we’re a really good football team.”
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who completed 21 of 37 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, said it feels like the Rams are close to putting together a consistent performance for an entire game.
“I think you see it in spurts, right?” Stafford said. “And it’s just, can you go out there and do it for the full game?”
Coach Sean McVay was emphatic at the podium after the loss, vowing that the Rams will find the “more consistent execution” he believes they are capable of.
“I’m not making excuses at all because we expect to accelerate our progression and I believe in this group, but disappointed with the inability to be able to play off of one another,” McVay said. “But we’re going to come back. We’re going to look at this film, we’re going to figure out where we can be better and we’re going to respond. And I can promise you that.”
Sarah Barshop
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