https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/12/14/nfl-injured-players-2018-jimmy-garoppolo-alex-smith
Which Injured Player’s Absence Has Most Impacted His Team?
COOPER KUPP, WR, L.A. RAMS
Yes, the Rams have gone 4–1 in the five games that Cooper Kupp has missed this season since
tearing his ACL in a
Week 10 win over Seattle. And sure, their offense has averaged 31.6 points in each of those games. But if you look closer into the numbers, you can see that the Los Angeles offense, and especially quarterback Jared Goff, is not the same without the trusty receiver in the lineup.
With Kupp in the lineup, Goff was putting up MVP-level numbers and the Rams offense looked to be unstoppable. For reference: In the eight games this season that Kupp started, Goff had a 69.6% completion percentage, averaged 329.6 passing yards per game, had a TD to INT ratio of nearly 3:1 and was sacked 1.6 times per game. In the five games without Kupp, Goff’s numbers drop significantly—a 57.3% completion rate, 216.2 passing yards a game, a 2:1 TD to INT ratio and an average of 3.2 sacks a game.
Kupp was not the flashiest part of Los Angeles’s high-powered attack, but he was a crucial cog, and it seems the Rams are still trying to figure out how to replace him in their system. If they don’t figure it out soon, Kupp’s absence could have a significant impact for a team that had very real Super Bowl aspirations. —
Ben Baskin