Cooper Kupp made a massive mistake on Sunday that could have contributed to a historic collapse, but the Los Angeles Rams star redeemed himself when it mattered most.
The Rams blew a 27-3 lead in their divisional round game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They committed offensive mistakes in the second half and allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to tie the game at 27 on a Leonard Fournette touchdown 42 seconds left. One of the mistakes was a Kupp fumble late in the third quarter. Kupp caught a pass and then coughed the ball up in Los Angeles territory with the Rams leading 27-6. The turnover led a touchdown that made it a two-score game.
Los Angeles lost two more fumbles after that and repeatedly gave the Bucs chances. Tom Brady capitalized and brought his team all the way back, but Matthew Stafford was able to drive the Rams down the field and set up a game-winning field goal as time expired. Kupp helped with two enormous plays.
Kupp caught a 20-yard pass and got out of bounds at the Rams' 44 with 27 seconds left. On the next play, he burned a defender and caught a 44-yard pass to help set up a Matt Gay chip shot. Stafford put the ball right on the money:
Kupp also had a 70-yard touchdown catch earlier in the game.
The Rams did almost everything they could to give the game away. Had Stafford and Kupp not stepped up on the final drive, the meltdown would have been one of the biggest stories in NFL history. Instead, the Rams will host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game next weekend. Their biggest challenge in that game might be keeping visiting fans out.
More must-reads: