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Cooper Kupp Shared Sweetest Moment With Matthew Stafford After Seahawks’ Win

Matthew Stafford was looking to find Cooper Kupp after the game.
Matthew Stafford congratulated Cooper Kupp after the Seahawks’ win.
Matthew Stafford congratulated Cooper Kupp after the Seahawks’ win. | NFL.

Four years ago, Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford celebrated together as they advanced to the Super Bowl and then defeated the Bengals to become champions for the first time.

On Sunday, Kupp advanced to the Super Bowl once again while sharing the field with Stafford—this time doing so with the opposing team, as he and the Seahawks defeated his former Rams squad 31-27 in the NFC championship game.

After the game, Stafford made sure to find Kupp on the field to congratulate him on returning to the Super Bowl. Kupp later said of their exchange to Sports Central LA: “Matthew’s the man. Ultimate competitor, one of the best to ever play the position. I love the guy, and every time he has the ball, it’s freaking terrifying.”

Kupp also met up with Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, to whom he was a mentor in Nacua's first two seasons in the NFL.

A year ago, Kupp announced on social media that the Rams were seeking to trade him despite his wanting to remain with Los Angeles. The Rams ended up releasing him, and he signed with the Seahawks in a return to his home state.

Now, Kupp has gotten the best revenge as he defeated his former team with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

“It was unbelievable,” Kupp told Sports Central LA. “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.”

The win was made even sweeter by Kupp scoring a 13-yard touchdown against the Rams. He finished the game with four catches for 36 yards, the touchdown, and, most importantly, as an NFC champion once again.


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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.