1 of 5 | Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp broke the single-season franchise record for receptions in a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday in Inglewood, Calf. File Photo by Jon SooHoo/UPI |
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Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Matthew Stafford threw two second-half touchdowns to star wide receiver Cooper Kupp to lead the Los Angeles Rams to a comeback win over the Seattle Seahawks and into a tie for first place atop the NFC's South division.
Kupp, the NFL's receptions leader, totaled nine catches for 136 yards in the 20-10 win Tuesday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Stafford completed 21 of 29 passes for 244 yards, two scores and one interception.
"It makes it that much sweeter when you see guys just stay connected, stay together," Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters.
"It wasn't always perfect, and there were some opportunities that I think we're going to be able to learn from, but guys didn't flinch, they didn't blink."
The game was initially scheduled for Sunday, but moved to Tuesday due to issues with COVID-19. The Rams out-gained the Seahawks 332 to 214 in total yards and held an edge in time of possession of more than 10 minutes.
"There were sometimes during the week where it was just every day it felt like half of our team was getting added to the [reserve/COVID-19] list," Stafford said. "I got to give our training staff a bunch of credit for doing a great job of handling that.
"Guys on our team that we asked to step up and play significant roles [Tuesday] did a great job."
Kicker Matt Gay gave the Rams a 3-0 lead with a 55-yard field goal midway though the first quarter. Jason Myers answered with a 39-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the second to tie the score at halftime.
The Seahawks went ahead 10-3 with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the second half. Running back DeeJay Dallas ran for a 4-yard score to end that possession.
The Rams answered about three minutes later when Stafford threw a 6-yard touchdown toss to Kupp. Neither team scored for the remainder of the third quarter.
Stafford then connected with Kupp for a second time 4:12 into the fourth. That touchdown pass covered 29 yards and helped give the Rams a seven-point edge. Gay added a 35-yard field goal with 1:51 remaining for the final points of the night.
Rams running back Sony Michel totaled 115 yards from scrimmage on 20 touches in the victory. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson completed 17 of 31 passes for 156 yards, with zero touchdowns and an interception.
"We were on it and had a chance to play with these guys throughout," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said.
"There were some opportunities in there that we needed to go the other way and they didn't for one reason or another."
Kupp's nine catches pushed his total to an NFL-best 122 in 2021 and set the Rams' single-season record. He also leads the league with 1,625 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns.
He needs 28 catches over his final three games to set the NFL's single-season receptions record.
The Rams (10-4) face the Minnesota Vikings (7-7) at 1 p.m. EST Sunday in Minneapolis. The Seahawks (5-9) host the Chicago Bears (4-10) at 4:05 p.m. EST Sunday in Seattle.