With the Super Bowl now behind us, we can begin to take a look back at what was an extremely successful 2021 season.
Throughout the season there were plenty of upsets and surprising performances and it all culminated in a Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl win on Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Rams had plenty of great performers along the way, but receiver Cooper Kupp ultimately shined the brightest. His performance in 2021 will go down in the history books as one of, if not the best season by a receiver in NFL history.
Kupp led the league in receptions (145), yards (1,947), receiving touchdowns (16) and yards per game with 114.5. All of these stats put Kupp high on the all-time lists for each respective category. Kupp now is second for most receptions and receiving yards, 10th in yards per game and tied for 15th in receiving touchdowns in a single-season. There was an extra game added to the season this year, but Kupp still handily blew out the rest of the league and would sit high in the record books even without the 17th game.
The 28-year-old’s incredible performance earned him the Offensive Player of the Year award and also didn’t stop when the regular season ended. Kupp dominated in the playoffs during the Rams’ trek to the Super Bowl and set the new all-time record for receptions in a single postseason with 33 and added another 478 receiving yards across the four games to go along with six touchdown catches.
Including the postseason, Kupp concluded the season with eye-popping numbers across the board. He tallied 178 catches, 2,425 receiving yards and 22 touchdown catches. He’s the first player to hit the 2,000-yard threshold in a season including the playoffs.
Kupp’s dominance helped lead Los Angeles to the Super Bowl and when the team needed to make a play down the stretch he saved his best work for the final drive, when he hauled in four catches for 39 yards and the Super Bowl-winning touchdown. He finished the day with eight catches, 92 yards and two touchdowns en route to becoming the eighth receiver all-time to win Super Bowl MVP.
From now on when the greatest receiving seasons in NFL history are debated, Kupp’s 2021 campaign has to at least be in the discussion.
NESN’s big game coverage is presented by Berkshire Bank.
