Cooper Kupp struggled to put his feelings into words as he looked out over a confetti-covered field Sunday night in Inglewood, Calif.
Moments earlier, Kupp had been named MVP of Super Bowl LVI. He caught eight passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter, as the Rams rallied for a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals to win their first title in Los Angeles.
It marked the best moment of an early but already exhilarating career for Kupp, 28, who entered the league in 2017 as a relatively anonymous wideout from Eastern Washington.
“I don’t feel deserving of this,” Kupp said. “God is just so good.”
Kupp shined throughout the season, finishing with a career-high 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He led the league in all three categories, earning him the fourth-ever receiving “triple crown.” He averaged 13.4 yards per catch, 114.5 yards per game and converted a whopping 89 first downs in 17 games.
As the Super Bowl started, however, it appeared that Odell Beckham Jr. would take center stage as the Rams’ top receiver. He quickly amassed two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown and seemed to be headed for a big performance against the Bengals’ secondary.
A knee injury to Beckham in the second quarter thinned out the Rams receiving corps — and prompted Los Angeles to turn more toward Kupp, even though the Bengals paid close attention to him throughout the contest.
That was never more evident than the Rams’ final drive, when Kupp hauled in four passes for 39 yards and a touchdown despite tight coverage.
“I’m just so thankful for everyone that’s been in my life, that’s pushed me, that’s encouraged me every step of the way,” Kupp said. “These guys that are standing out here, they challenged me, they pushed me, they made it so much fun to come to work every day.”
Kupp set an NFL record for the most catches during a single postseason with 33. He also joined Larry Fitzgerald in 2008 as the only wideouts to catch a touchdown pass in four games during the same postseason.
–Field Level Media