During Monday night’s Wild Card showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings, the Rams did whatever they wanted throughout the first half.
With a trip to the Divisional Round on the line, Los Angeles currently leads Minnesota 24-3. However, one key Rams player hasn’t gotten in on the fun.
What Happened to Cooper Kupp?
At halftime, the Rams have built a significant lead over the Vikings, and Matthew Stafford has completed 14 of 20 passes for 154 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
However, despite Stafford’s success and the Rams’ big lead, Cooper Kupp doesn’t have a single catch in this game.
Leading up to the game, Kupp wasn’t on the Rams’ injury report so it doesn’t appear he’s dealing with any kind of injury — he just hasn’t been involved at all throughout the first half of this contest.
After a strong start to the season, Kupp has been largely invisible in recent weeks. He sat out Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks, but in the previous three games, he totaled four receptions for 53 yards and no touchdowns.
Against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, he caught just one pass for 29 yards. The previous week versus the New York Jets, Kupp had three receptions for 24 yards. In Week 16 against the San Francisco 49ers, he was held without a catch.
Not only is Kupp struggling to catch many passes, but Stafford isn’t even looking his way lately. At halftime against Minnesota, he had not been targeted.
Across his first nine games, Kupp averaged 10.1 targets per game. Over the past three games, he’s averaging just 3.0 targets per game. Meanwhile, Nacua was targeted 31 times from Weeks 15-17, catching 25 passes for 282 yards over that three-game stretch.
The Cooper Kupp fall-off needs to be investigated.
Makes ZERO sense.
What did he do to make Stafford not look his way anymore?
Is Kupp dealing with an undisclosed injury?
— PPRFantasyTips (@PPRFantasyTips) January 14, 2025
Many fans and bettors were frustrated by Kupp’s disappearing act and wondered if he’s dealing with some kind of undisclosed injury that is impacting his performance. Others wondered if he just doesn’t have much left in the tank, as he is nearing 32 years old.
It remains to be seen if Kupp will get more involved in the second half — or at some point in the Rams’ postseason run if they are able to hold onto their big lead over the Vikings and advance to the Divisional Round.
Kupp finished the season with 67 receptions for 710 yards and six touchdowns, but the bulk of his production occurred earlier in the season.