The Los Angeles Rams’ quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions has been a colossal failure, and a potentially serious injury to superstar wideout Cooper Kupp might serve as the final blow.
Kupp suffered an ankle injury during the Rams’ Week 10 27-17 home loss to the NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals. After the game, Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay told reporters that the injury “didn’t look good”, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk.
“I just know it didn’t look good. It didn’t sound good,” McVay said.
If Kupp misses significant time, it’ll just be another unfortunate piece of news in what has been a highly disappointing season. The team was already without starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is sidelined with a concussion.
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Not only is Kupp the Rams’ best offensive player, but he’s been their only consistent producer on offense this season. The Super Bowl 56 MVP has hauled in 75 receptions for 812 yards and six touchdowns.
After Kupp, veteran tight end Tyler Higbee is the Rams’ leading receiver with 385 yards, followed by free agent signing Allen Robinson (292).
Without Stafford, the Rams largely struggled to move the ball. So much so that Kupp finished the game with three receptions for minus-one yard.
With the loss, the Rams are dead-last in the NFC West at 3-6, and keep in mind that the Detroit Lions own L.A.’s 2023 first-rounder as part of the 2021 Stafford trade. The defending champions will visit the New Orleans Saints next week.
The last team to win the Super Bowl that missed the playoffs the following season? The Denver Broncos in 2016, though the Super Bowl 50 champions did finish with a respectable 9-7 record. For this year’s Rams, they’ll likely have to win out to sneak into the postseason.
But based on how they’ve played through nine games, there’s little reason to think they’ll accomplish that.
