Cooper Kupp Knew Matthew Stafford Was Special Before Rams Season Started
Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, quite literally, had a historical connection in 2021, leading the Los Angeles Rams to their first Super Bowl win in two decades.
Along the way, Kupp compiled one of the best single seasons for a wide receiver in NFL history, while Stafford had arguably the best statistical season of his career.
And at no moment was their connection more noticeable than during their Super Bowl win, when Stafford hit Kupp on a no-look pass late in the game to set up the go-ahead score.
The Rams would eventually go on to take the lead following the play, cementing their championship run.
However, during a recent interview with Colin Cowherd, Kupp detailed how noticed something special about Stafford well before that throw, and even before the season began, with his QB pulling off a similar play during last year's OTAs.
“Probably the play that happened during OTAs, probably a year ago to the day almost, that it was like the light went on – like, ‘Oh, that is what makes this guy great’ – is the exact same play that we ran that he no-looked in the Super Bowl,” Kupp recalled. “That was the first time where I went back, I felt what he had done – I’m like, ‘I think he might’ve just no-looked that one’ – and I went back and watched it on film and seeing him manipulate people underneath and do what he did with his eyes and being able to throw the ball that he did, it was literally on the exact same play that he no-looked in the Super Bowl when he had that great one on that last drive. It was literally the exact same play, but it was like, ‘This guy has something that is different.’ He’s not a quarterback that’s reactive. You know the saying, ‘Take what the defense gives you.’ A lot of the time, that’s true, but he also understands how to say, ‘No, I’m going to dictate where this ball is going and move people and make sure I can make the throw I want to make that’s going to be a big play.'"
Now that Stafford and Kupp have one season of chemistry under their belt, it's hard to imagine they won't find a way to improve in 2022 -- a scary prospect for the rest of the NFL, which struggled to keep them in check a year ago.
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