It’s finally here: the showdown of the season, so far, for the Seattle Seahawks. At 7-2, Seattle is on top of the NFC West’s totem pole in first place. However, their position is rather tenuous at best. Breathing down their necks are the similarly 7-2 Los Angeles Rams, who are behind the Seahawks exclusively due to a better division record tiebreaker. Now Seattle will face their arch rivals in the City of Angels – the team that edged them out for the NFC West last year – for their first meeting of the 2025 campaign.
It will also be the first time wide receiver Cooper Kupp will face his former team. Kupp, originally a third round pick by the Rams from the 2017 NFL draft, made quite a name for himself down in southern California. Among his many accolades include being the MVP of Super Bowl LVI. Kupp’s time with the Rams came to an unceremonious end, as the team he put his career on the line for cut him this past offseason. Their loss was Seattle’s gain, as the Seahawks brought the Yakima native back to the Evergreen State where he first made a name for himself at Eastern Washington University.
Kupp had a solid game in Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals, where he had an impressive 67-yard catch-and-run to set up a touchdown for Seattle. Knowing which team was next on the docket for the Seahawks, I asked Kupp what the team’s mentality was – and specifically, his – for facing the Rams. His response is listed below:
“We have been taking a one game at a time mindset. I don’t think our minds have really shifted to that yet. We’re getting ready to prepare for what that team presents to us, and I think they’re playing good ball right now. Shoot, just looking forward to another great challenge. Go out there and go this week and try to go 1-0.”
A predictably professional response from the future Hall of Fame wide receiver. I do believe this team is well coached enough to have the right mindset going into such a crucial game, but I also know when players face their old teams they have a little extra motivation to make their former employer regret letting them go.
Kupp versus the Rams’ secondary will surely be a battle to watch. For as much as Kupp wants to show the Rams they were wrong to move on from him, Los Angeles might be equally focused on refusing to let their former MVP ruin their day.