The announcer asked the question as the NFL returned to its spiritual home in the UK and Wembley roared back. Whose house? Rams house. And Cooper Kupp pays the bills. The receiver’s 220 yards, capped with a touchdown, ripped the Bengals apart and gave LA an easy 24-10 victory.
The Rams’ head coach, Sean McVay, had a plan. Get the ball in Kupp’s hands. It worked from the outset and McVay was delighted with his team’s dominant performance in front of the 83,720 strong crowd. He said: “I think we did a good job responding to adversity. It was challenging but our players handled it well. These guys have done an excellent job and for Cooper to get 220, what can you say.
“He continues to make play after play and you can just see the ability to create after the catch. He had some huge third down conversions.”
The warning signs were there and Robert Woods pitched in with a grab too on the opening drive, both men wide open and easily found by quarterback Jared Goff, as LA cruised upfield. Greg Zuerlein’s reliable boot racked up three points.
The Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton responded moving them with similar ease but in comfortable scoring range a Trey Hopkins false start pushed them back and Cincinnati settled for three courtesy of a Randy Bullock chip shot.
Goff’s arm sharpened and stayed hot from them on. He was flawless, finishing the day with 372 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Bengals were left chasing shadows while Kupp scuttled away for back-to-back receptions on their next possession. LA’s offensive line were as immaculate as their passer, allowing Goff to find whoever he pleased all night. Josh Reynolds, stepping up with Brandin Cooks leaving the game with concussion, was his man next for an easy 31 yard score.
McVay’s defence were in control except for one errant sequence where the Bengals broke through with the running tandem of Giovani Bernard and Joe Mixon. Bernard dazzling with a 25-yard sprint that slashed from left to right, defenders grasping thin air. Dalton could not believe his luck on the goalline as he scanned and found Mixon alone to draw level at 10 a piece. It would not happen again. The Bengals desperately miss the injured AJ Green’s athleticism at receiver. What felt like endless failed second-half drives may have ended with successes had he been involved.
Cincinnati’s defence is similarly plagued by injury and was the NFL’s worst in average yards conceded going into the game. They went from having a bad dream to a full blown night terror seconds after they took the field again. McVay’s plan the same. Pass it to Kupp but with a twist this time. Goff handed the ball to Woods, who dished it back to Goff, with the quarterback then finding Kupp. A McVay masterclass and an utterly bamboozling double reverse that allowed Kupp to set his course straight ahead with BW Webb on hand to bring him down. Instead Webb slipped. Kupp waved goodbye, racing away for a 65-yard set of six. Zuerlein converted for 17-10.
On the game-defining play Kupp said: “You never know when it is going to be called. We’ve been working on it for a while and we got an interesting look from the defence. The execution in terms of Jared putting the ball where he did ... you’ve got guys that can execute, good things happen.”
The play encapsulated Cincinnati’s dreadful season with a second sack of the day of an eventual five for the quarterback – dealt by Dante Fowler – but gift-wrapped by Dalton’s lack of protection adding insult to injury at the close of the half.
The plan appeared to be unravelling desperately. Cincinnati hired Zac Taylor to lead them because of being McVay’s assistant last season, a young coach coming from a team that went to the Super Bowl with an offence that dominated in 2018 like they did here. The attack entered the game as comfortably one of the worst despite Taylor’s credentials. London could have been the spark to show some promise even if an eighth successive defeat always felt inevitable. It was not to be.
Taylor said after the loss: “Another tough one. It feels like I’m a broken record at this point. It is frustrating the way the season has gone. I’m not discouraged and I feel like we’re making progress. We can make a charge in the second half of the season.”
Kupp and Goff strolled out for the second half and instantly combined again for 40 yards. The former’s magnetic hands never looking like failing despite being surrounded by defenders. Todd Gurley rumbled into the endzone from three yards and LA were out of sight at 24-10.
Easy match-ups have allowed the Rams to bounce back to five wins and three losses after surrendering their streak of three to start the season. If McVay can keep Kupp and Goff working this explosively then the play-offs will surely beckon once more. But then again, functional opposition do too.
