Facing team of his youth in Hawks, L.A.’s Cooper Kupp looks to ignite offense
Cooper Kupp can catalog the times he’s faced the Seattle Seahawks with significant moments of his NFL career etched in his memory.
In Kupp’s first career game against the Seahawks his rookie season in 2017, Kupp couldn’t corral a catch in the end zone that would have won the game for the Los Angeles Rams. He received some redemption in the rematch, helping to lead the Rams to a 42-7 rout over the Seahawks in Seattle.
Kupp suffered a concussion in L.A.’s first game against Seattle in 2018 and tore the ACL in his left knee in the second game against the Seahawks that season.
Last year after an arduous rehab during the offseason, Kupp managed to stay healthy, aiding the Rams in a split of the season series with Seattle. Overall, Kupp has helped give the Rams a 4-2 edge over Seattle during his time in L.A.
“It’s been a fun battle,” Kupp said. “They present some great challenges for us. They have some great players on that side of the ball as a defense. I just have a lot of respect for how those guys fly around out there. It’s going to be another good one on Sunday.”
Kupp hales from Yakima, Wash. -- about a 2 ½-hour drive east of Seattle across the Cascade Mountains in Eastern Washington. Kupp said he grew up a Seahawks fan until he realized at eight or nine years old that his bedtime arrived once the game was over.
“After that it was kind of like, I just want good games and overtime -- I just want to see good football being played,” Kupp said. “So I kind of moved away from that, and just liked watching players and watching the game.”
Kupp apparently is motivated in facing the Seahawks, knowing family and friends back home will be watching. Kupp has career highs in catches (29), receiving yards (356) and touchdowns (3) against Seattle.
For the season, Kupp currently leads the Rams in targets (71), receptions (48) and receiving yards (527). But he also leads the Rams in a more dubious category, drops (5).
With the Rams struggling to score points and sustain drives, Kupp understands that he and the rest of his teammates have to do a better job to help quarterback Jared Goff get the offense into the end zone more consistently.
“Look, we have to find ways to make plays for Jared,” Kupp said. “There’s going to be contested catches. There’s going to be guys on us. There’s going to tough plays to be made, and we have to do a better job of making those plays. It’s plain and simple. I don’t have anything for you other than it’s our job to make plays, and we need to do a better job of that.”
The Rams face a Seattle defense giving up a league-worst 362 passing yards a contest, so there should be some opportunities for Goff and Kupp to create some explosive plays on Sunday.
“The standard that we’ve set for ourselves is greater than what we’ve put on tape the last, few weeks,” Kupp said. “And we’re excited to get back to the standard that we’ve established.”
