The 2024 fantasy football playoffs began on Thursday night, as the Rams faced the 49ers in what was supposed to be a high-scoring affair. Unfortunately, based on the unbelievable lack of statistical success, the fantasy playoffs might have already ended for countless fans, too.
More to the point, those who started Cooper Kupp are now facing an uphill battle.
The Rams' superstar wide receiver, who was started in close to 100 percent of leagues across all platforms, didn’t score a single point in the game. Not one. It’s only the 10th time in his NFL career that he’s been held under five points, and it came at the worst time for managers.
Kupp wasn’t the only player who had a bad stat line, though.
The contest didn’t feature a single touchdown, as the scoring was limited to six field goals. Both quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy, combined to score 12.2 points. Going into the night, Stafford had averaged 14.7 points while Purdy averaged 17.6 points.
Stafford’s 8.2 points is the seventh fewest he’s scored in 55 regular-season games with the Rams. As for Purdy, his four-point stinker is his third-worst total in his 34 starts with the 49ers. The two kickers, Joshua Karty and Jake Moody, outscored both quarterbacks.
They weren’t the only ones who scored fewer points than those two booters, either.
Karty’s 13 fantasy points were more than Isaac Guerendo (11.5), George Kittle (10.1), Jauan Jennings (5.1), and Deebo Samuel Sr. (4.9). Karty nearly equaled the fantasy stats from Kyren Williams (13.4), who entered the week averaging more than 17 points per game.
Puka Nacua was the lone player who didn’t fail to meet expectations. He scored 17.8 points on seven catches and 108 total yards. But overall, the lack of statistical success from almost every startable fantasy player in this contest (none more than Kupp’s zero points) has put plenty of fantasy managers in a deep hole heading into the weekend.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cooper Kupp Might Have Ended Your Fantasy Football Championship Dreams.