NFL locals: Cooper Kupp returns to NFC Championship to face former team

Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington) was a playoff star for the Los Angeles Rams during his eight years with the franchise. He was particularly impressive in the Rams’ 2022 run to a Super Bowl championship.

Now, all that stands in the way of Kupp’s return to the Super Bowl is his former team.

The veteran receiver, a first-year member of the Seattle Seahawks, will square off against the Rams on Sunday in the NFC Championship in Seattle. Los Angeles beat Chicago 20-17 in overtime on Sunday in the divisional round.

Kupp totaled 742 yards and seven touchdowns on 56 catches in nine playoff games with the Rams. He piled up 142 yards and two TDs in the 2021-22 NFC title game, a win over San Francisco, then earned Super Bowl MVP honors after logging 92 yards and two TDs in Los Angeles’ championship win over Cincinnati. Kupp was also the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2021-22.

“You don’t take these things for granted,” Kupp said when asked about returning to the NFC Championship after Seattle’s 41-6 rout of the 49ers on Saturday in a divisional-round game.

The Rams made the playoffs but fell short of the NFC title game in Kupp’s last two years with the franchise, then he signed with NFC West rival Seattle, his home-state franchise, before this season. Kupp has played his former team twice. He had 23 yards on three catches in Seattle’s 21-19 loss in L.A. on Nov. 16, and recorded 39 yards on three receptions in the Seahawks’ 38-37 overtime win at home on Dec. 18.

This season, Kupp hasn’t returned to that prime pass-catching form of his L.A. days, but he’s always played at his best in the postseason. And he had one of his better games this weekend, registering 60 yards on five catches. Kupp had a long reception of 21 yards to spark a touchdown drive in the first quarter, and set up a scoring run by Kenneth Walker III in the third quarter with a 15-yard grab.

Kupp received the third-highest Pro Football Focus grade (88.5) among all players. The high mark was partly due to his blocking. For instance, he threw a lead block on the first of Walker’s three touchdown runs.

“I don’t think people realize what he does in the run game as a blocker,” quarterback Sam Darnold told reporters. “He’s one of the best, if not the best run-blocking receiver that I’ve ever seen.”

Kupp’s PFF grade was behind only Walker (90.6) and right tackle Abraham Lucas (88.7), a Washington State grad.

Lucas didn’t allow a sack or a QB hit, surrendering one hurry and committing a false start penalty. But on the next play after his fifth penalty of the season, Lucas bulldozed over a defender to clear a lane for a 5-yard run.

Lucas effectively sealed the edge, creating outside running lanes for Walker, who rushed for 116 yards – Lucas walled off a defender on Walker’s third TD, a 6-yard run that made the score 41-6 in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks averaged 5.3 yards per carry.

A highlight package shows the fourth-year pro consistently pushing his man off the line of scrimmage, throwing a couple of pancake blocks and pushing the pile on rushing plays. On passing downs, Lucas gave up little ground and overall made his assignments look easy.

A third-round draft pick by Seattle in 2022, Lucas was appearing in his second playoff game. He played every snap in both games – the first was a 41-23 loss to San Francisco in the wild-card round on Jan. 14, 2023.

For the season, Lucas is PFF’s 24th-ranked offensive tackle out of 89.

• Christian Elliss (Idaho), a linebacker for New England, made some nice plays during a dominant effort for the Patriots defense in a 28-16 divisional-round win over visiting Houston on Sunday.

Elliss recorded four tackles, one pass breakup and brought down Texans tailback Woody Marks for a loss of 1 in the second quarter. Elliss also made a run stop for no gain earlier in the game. He helped the Pats hold Houston’s rushing game to just 48 yards.

The fifth-year pro came off the bench to appear on 40 of 75 defensive snaps. Elliss received praise from dozens of Pats fans on social media, who lauded the linebacker for rallying to the ball and laying several hard hits. Fans appreciated how he popped Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud as he was falling to the ground for a sack in the second quarter, though Elliss wasn’t credited with the sack.

The Patriots’ No. 2 tackler this season (94), Elliss has developed into a steady contributor for a top team after going undrafted out of Idaho in 2021. He’s had a breakout season, starting 14 of 17 games. Elliss started for New England in its playoff opener, a win over the Los Angeles Chargers last weekend.

Elliss has appeared in five playoff games – three in 2022 with Philadelphia, playing special teams for the Eagles during their Super Bowl loss to Kansas City.

Elliss advances to face his younger brother, Denver edge rusher Jonah Elliss (Moscow High), next weekend in the AFC Championship.

Jonah Elliss had three tackles in the Broncos’ 33-30 overtime win over Buffalo on Saturday. The younger Elliss has been a piece of Denver’s pass-rushing rotation over the past two years, logging 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks this season.

A third-round draft pick out of Utah in 2024, Jonah Elliss was a prep star at Moscow High, earning Inland Empire League MVP honors, while his father, Luther, coached the defensive line at Idaho – where older sons Kaden and Christian played. Jonah came to Salt Lake City when Luther took a job as the Utes’ defensive tackles coach in 2022.

Jonah Elliss, 22, is the youngest of three Elliss brothers in the NFL. Christian is 27. Kaden, 30, is a standout linebacker for Atlanta.

• Kyle Williams (WSU), a rookie receiver for the Patriots, returned one kickoff and was targeted three times but did not record a catch.

The former Cougs star, a third-round draft pick last year, touched the ball once on special teams, returning a first-quarter kickoff 22 yards. Williams, who recorded 209 yards and three TDs receiving this season, has been used off-and-on as the Pats’ kick returner.

New England QB Drake Maye looked for Williams deep down the sideline on a third-and-8 late in the game. Williams tried to lay out for the catch, but couldn’t reel it in with one hand and a defender fighting him.

• Efton Chism III (EWU), another rookie receiver for the Pats, also returned one kickoff but didn’t log any offensive stats.

Chism returned a second-quarter kickoff 20 yards. On offense, he was primarily used as a blocking receiver.

The former FCS All-American has become a contributor for the Patriots after going undrafted and spending half a season working his way up to the active roster, making his NFL debut in October. Chism registered 75 yards and caught his first TD pass late in the season, and has seen a consistent role on special teams.

Both Chism and Williams appeared on 22 of the Pats’ 65 offensive snaps on Sunday.

• Kendrick Bourne (EWU), a San Francisco wideout, was targeted twice but did not record a catch during the 49ers’ loss.

The ninth-year vet didn’t have a reception in the playoffs, though he appeared on roughly 40% of offensive snaps in San Francisco’s two postseason games, per Pro Football Reference.

Bourne finished the season with 551 yards on 37 receptions, and didn’t have a touchdown. He played in 18 games (eight starts) in the first year of his second stint with the 49ers – he played four seasons (2017-21) with the franchise to start his career, then spent four years with New England before re-signing with San Francisco in September. Bourne has appeared in six playoff games.

For his NFL career, the EWU great has 4,265 yards and 22 TDs on 329 catches over 127 games (42 starts).