Back in 2019, Cooper Kupp and Jourdan Lewis were both in their third NFL seasons. The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver was having a breakout. 94 catches for more than 1,000 yards and ten touchdowns. Lewis, a backup corner with the Dallas Cowboys, was also making a name for himself, though not nearly as big a name as the new Seattle Seahawks receiver.
However, when they first squared off against each other, Lewis and the Cowboys clearly got the best Kupp and his Rams. Kupp did catch six passes and scored a touchdown, but all six came in the second half when the game was basically over. Dallas won 44-21.
Six years later, the two veterans are both with different teams. And I couldn’t help but wonder if Kupp remembered that 2019 contest as he scored his first touchdown in a Seattle Seahawks uniform, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Jourdan Lewis on a clean-out route.
Cooper Kupp is making the most of his chances with the Seattle Seahawks
Kupp’s touchdown early in the third quarter gave Seattle what amounted to an insurmountable lead in their 20-12 victory. With the Hawks’ defense hounding the Jags’ Trevor Lawrence into erratic play much of the day., Jacksonville could never get enough going on offense to really challenge Seattle.
Still, the Hawks wanted a big enough lead to pull Jacksonville out of their run/throw balance and force Lawrence to beat them. That’s what Kupp helped them achieve on the first drive after halftime.
First, he caught a shallow post from Sam Darnold and spun out of Eric Murphy’s tackle for a 29-yard gain to move the Hawks into the red zone. After two Kenneth Walker runs, facing a third-down-and-three, Kupp ran his short out and Darnold hit him with a perfect throw.
They were the only two catches Kupp would have on the day, but they were crucial.
Everyone acknowledges that Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the alpha in the Seahawks’ receiving room at this point. He has stepped up in a major way this season, proving that he is much more than a high-volume possession receiver. He is one of the best playmakers in the league.
Perhaps it has something to do with the “next level mindset” JSN picked up after spending the offseason working with the veteran Kupp. Regardless, it appears that Seattle’s offense is getting very comfortable employing all of its weapons.
Statistically, Seattle’s Week 6 passing attack looked a lot like what they had done in Week 1. In both games, Jaxon Smith-Njigba had more targets than all the other pass catchers combined. That didn’t work out very well for Klint Kubiak in the Week 1 loss to San Francisco, and he has seemed to make an effort to diversify the passing attack ever since.
But there was a crucial difference between Week 6 and Week 1. Week 1, no one apart from JSN had an impact. Against the Jags, other pass catchers made big plays. Tight end AJ Barner broke loose for a 61-yard gain as Seattle was salting the game away. And Cooper Kupp scored his first touchdown.
I have a feeling it is not going to be his last.
