Rams’ Cooper Kupp enjoys big game, return to Northwest

SEATTLE – When he returned to play football in Washington again Thursday night, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp just did what he always does: produce big numbers.

The former Eastern Washington standout turned in another strong performance in the Rams’ 30-29 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Kupp caught nine passes for 117 yards as he became the NFL’s leader in receptions with 39, and yards with 505.

Those numbers demonstrate Kupp’s remarkable consistency through the season’s first five games, but that’s not to say it was just an ordinary business trip to CenturyLink in front of a large group of family and friends.

“I never want to say I feel like I treat a game bigger than anything else in terms of my preparation and anything like that,” Kupp said, pausing to give a brief smile. “But it’s nice to get off the plane and feel that Northwest air. A little brisk. It felt good.”

Kupp played a key role with two catches for 20 yards on what looked like a game-winning drive right up until the point when typically reliable kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 44-yard field goal. As might be expected from one of the league’s best route runners and a three-time academic All-American at EWU, Kupp said failure to execute the “little things” throughout the game cost Los Angeles more than one bad play in the loss.

He spent an unusual amount of time on the sideline in the first quarter as Los Angeles leaned heavily on running back Todd Gurley in a two wide-receiver set. Quarterback Jared Goff struggled when asked to throw, completing just two of his first eight passes.

“When you do get in there you don’t want to feel like you’re now trying to figure out what’s going on with the game,” Kupp said. “Try to get a feel for what guys are doing and then while you can see from the sidelines, be able to communicate what you’re seeing out there, how you’re attacking, what kind of releases are working for you.”

A switch to more of an air attack paid off immediately and Kupp stepped up, catching a 25-yard pass from Goff for the third straight completion of at least 12 yards, setting up a field goal. Los Angeles and Kupp hit their stride on a touchdown drive in the final two minutes, which included three Kupp catches, capped by a nine-yard touchdown reception.

He created enough space near the end zone on a crossing pattern to catch a second touchdown in the final quarter that would have put the Rams up by eight points. But Goff’s third down pass sailed over the head of the 6-foot-2, 208-pound wideout, forcing the Rams to settle for a field goal.

Kupp caught a screen pass and multiple balls over the middle with room to run out of the slot, helping him take over as the NFL’s leader in yards after catch for non-running backs. The tendency to seek out any extra yards he can find mirrors his relentless work ethic that has drawn rave reviews from Yakima – where he grew up – to Cheney to Los Angeles.

It helped him recover with astonishing speed from a torn ACL suffered last November 11 in a 36-31 win over Seattle. Nine months later, Kupp returned to full speed, an achievement Cooper’s father, Craig Kupp, attributed to a collaborative effort between his son, the surgeon, trainers and coaches.

“I’m just so happy with how it turned out,” Craig Kupp said. “Just so blessed that he’s come back and his top speed’s faster than what he had before the injury.”

Another impressive night gave Kupp’s family, friends and fans plenty to cheer for once again, despite the loss. Mark Millsap, an Eastern Washington fan from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, made the drive over and wore the No. 18 Kupp jersey he bought last season.

“He just looks like he’s a hard worker,” Millsap said before the game, noting he admired Kupp when he saw him play several times on the red field in Cheney.