Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp had himself a history-making regular season and has continued to dominate during the playoffs.
The San Francisco 49ers found that out first-hand in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against Kupp and Co. That included Kupp burning cornerback Ambry Thomas on a 16-yard touchdown to give Los Angeles a 7-0 lead.
It came on 3rd-and-13 and amid some blown coverage from San Francisco’s secondary.
As you can see, this was an absolutely perfect throw from Matthew Stafford. However, it was also a beautiful route from Kupp, who has been known to make opposing defensive backs look foolish. We saw that during last week’s NFC divisional playoff win over Tom Brady and the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As for Kupp, he led the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16) during the regular season. By virtue of this catch, the former small-school receiver had already tallied four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.
Like clockwork, Deebo Samuel and the 49ers responded on their next possession. Being dominated from a time of possession and yards perspective, Samuel responded big time.
That included the All-Pro wide receiver taking a mere screen from Jimmy Garoppolo and turning it up the field for a 44-yard touchdown and a tie game.
A second-round pick out of South Carolina back in 2019, Samuel has morphed into an elite playmaker for the 49ers. He ended the regular season having caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns. Samuel also added 365 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Yeah, the stars are coming to play in the NFC Championship Game.
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