It was just four years ago that the Los Angeles Rams were elevating the Super Bowl trophy above their heads in the first year of the Matthew Stafford era. That season was also the one that saw the emergence of Cooper Kupp as an elite NFL wideout, and for good reason.
That same year, Kupp had enjoyed one of the best single-seasons a wide receiver can ever have in their career, and the league's history when he captured a Triple Crown, having led all wideouts that year in receptions (145), yards (1,947), and touchdowns (16). Only three players had done it before him, and only one has since.
Kupp was the Rams' offensive catalyst that year, and he played a massive part in helping LA secure a championship. However, in the following seasons, injuries began to slow Kupp down, and eventually, he would depart LA, landing with the Seattle Seahawks. Four years later, Kupp is about to contend for another Super Bowl, and it includes beating the Rams along the way.
Copper Kupp could have never written a better storyline now that his Seahawks are Super Bowl-bound
Kupp's first season in Seattle didn't exactly go off without a hitch as far as the presumed expectations the Seahawks had for him when they signed him last offseason. With injuries affecting Kupp over the past few seasons with the Rams, he stayed generally healthy this season, missing just two regular-season games with the Seahawks.
His wide receiving numbers did take a hit, though, compared to the last few seasons. Kupp had his lowest receiving yards in a season since the 2018 season (566); he only tallied 593 this season in Seattle. His touchdowns also significantly dropped — two compared to last year's six. Additionally, he caught just 47 balls this year on 70 targets.
The emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a factor in Kupp's decline, that's for sure, but Kupp also appeared to have taken a step back. However, you can't say he has not come up in clutch moments for the Seahawks this season when it comes to big catches down the stretch.
He did so against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional playoff game last weekend, and he caught the game-winning touchdown against the Rams on Sunday.
Kupp is no longer elite, but he was incredibly important in helping the Seahawks overcome the Rams in the NFC Championship game. After the win, Kupp shared his emotions in an on-field interview about beating his old team, with which he won a Super Bowl.
“It was unbelievable,” Kupp said of the win. “This storyline, it couldn't have been written any better. Been a lot of times my wife and I have been struggling through [with] why things happened, why things played out the way they did. We were asking ‘why’ a lot. We found a peace in being able to ask ourselves what it was that God had for us. ... Just for it to play out like this, whether this was going to happen or not, the peace we have being here with these people, these guys, these coaches, it’s just been an unbelievable experience.”
Kupp's late third-quarter touchdown that put the Seahawks up 31-20 would be the score that sealed the win, despite the Rams getting one more of their own just moments later. He closed the door on his former team, and that has to feel good, and is a significant piece of the act in that storyline Kupp alluded to.
Kupp is now in a position to win another Super Bowl, and although the regular season had its struggles, there's no doubt Kupp wouldn't want to be anywhere else but in Seattle right now.