The Los Angeles Rams could not have asked for a better start to their divisional round contest with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as the visitors are out to an early 17-3 lead early in the second quarter.
One of the big plays from the Rams offense in the early going was a huge 70-yard touchdown strike from Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Cooper Kupp, that not only converted a 3rd and 20 situation for the Rams, but gave Los Angeles their second touchdown of the game.
The big play begins with the protection up front. Tampa Bay brings just four after Stafford, but the fourth defender — outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett — is tasked with jamming tight end Tyler Higbee before letting him release into the route. As such, Stafford has a clean pocket and an opportunity to step up before releasing the throw:
70 YARD TOUCHDOWN TO KUPP!@RamsNFL are ROLLING. #RamsHouse
📺: #LARvsTB on NBC
📱: https://t.co/6Hz1DjFj3t pic.twitter.com/k0euIJvFV9— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2022
At first blush, the play looked like a potential coverage bust in the secondary. But through a few different angles, we can see how the passing concept, the coverage and the eyes from the quarterback put stress on the defense.
Tampa Bay drops into a Cover 2 look on this play, while the Rams send two vertical routes deep from the right side of the field. Kupp releases vertically towards the right boundary, while Van Jefferson splits the pair of two deep safeties.
As you can see from this depiction of the play, this route concept — and coverage — puts stress on safety Mike Edwards, who is aligned to that side of the field. In this coverage as a half-field safety, when both the inside and the outside receiver release vertically, he tries to split the difference between the two, breaking when the quarterback makes his decision and throw:
Matthew Stafford & Cooper Kupp (70-yd TD)
🔹 Air Distance: 50.3 yds
🔹 Target Separation: 5.8 yds
🔹 Completion Probability: 50.6%» Stafford: 3rd completion of 50+ yards & 5+ yards of separation this season (out of 8 NFL-wide); 2nd vs Bucs#StatThat | Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/mvZMcNzFr2
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 23, 2022
Here is where Stafford comes in.
As you can see from “the dots,” Edwards midpoints between Jefferson and Kupp, but then breaks towards the middle of the field and Jefferson’s safety-splitter. Instead, Stafford throws to the outside. As you can see from this angle, Stafford moves Edwards to the route in the middle of the field with his eyes, then flashes them late to the outside to pick up Kupp deep along the sideline:
.@CooperKupp simply can not be stopped. 😤
📺: #LARvsTB on NBC
📱: https://t.co/6Hz1DjFj3t pic.twitter.com/szSa2ln5eN— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2022
Stafford starts with his field of vision to the left, trying to sell Edwards on the route in the middle of the field. Only late in the play does the QB flash his eyes to the right, and while Edwards tries to recover, he cannot prevent the catch.
Then, compounding matters, Kupp makes him miss in the open field, and the Rams are in the end zone.
This play ended up being the perfect storm for the Buccaneers. The coverage concept when matched up with this route concept put the safety in a bind, and without the ability to get pressure on the quarterback — due in part to the four-man rush with one of the defenders getting a late start — Stafford had time to both use his eyes and let the concept develop.
