Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp enters Week 18 with a chance to make NFL history.
Kupp needs 11 catches to tie Michael Thomas for the most catches in a season and he’ll tie Calvin Johnson’s receiving yards record if he picks up 135 against the 49ers on Sunday. If Kupp does equal or pass those marks, he’ll be doing it in the 17th game of the season and he said on Monday that he’s on the side of those who think that records for 17-game seasons should stand apart from those that were achieved in fewer games.
“What those guys did in 16 games, it wouldn’t seem right to, I don’t know, for those to be broken in 17 games,” Kupp said, via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com. “It wouldn’t hold the same weight to me as it does for guys that have done that in a 16-game season and the accomplishments those guys had and the seasons they put together. Those are incredible things, incredible accomplishments. You kind of have to separate the two. . . . Those records hold a different weight. I have just an incredible respect for what those guys were able to do, what they were able to accomplish, what they were able to produce for their teams in those 16 games.”
However Sunday plays out and however Kupp’s marks are viewed in comparison to what came before, the 2021 season has been a remarkable one for the wideout. He’s on track to become the fourth player in history to lead the league in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns and he’s already the fourth player with 100 receptions, 1,500 receiving yards, and 15 receiving touchdowns in a single season.
