Lost in the aftermath of the Seahawks' shellacking of New England in Super Bowl LX, led by MVP Kenneth Walker III and a deep defense, were the clutch performances by Sam Darnold's other playmakers.
AJ Barner hauled in all four of his targets and Seattle's only score of the game. Despite catching just four of his 10 targets, Jaxon Smith-Njigba frequently got open for Darnold. But no player went as unheralded in the immediate fallout of the Seahawks' victory than the man who had been on the winner's podium before: Cooper Kupp.
Kupp, second banana all year to Offensive Player of the Year Smith-Njigba, paced all Seattle players with six receptions on 12 targets for 61 yards on Sunday evening. His 61 yards were his most in the postseason and his third-most in any game this season. Kupp's 23-yard sideline grab on the Seahawks' opening drive set the tone, and his 9-yard conversion on third down in the fourth quarter was immediately followed by Barner's game-winning score.
By evening's end, the Super Bowl LVI MVP was a two-time Super Bowl champion -- and the recipient of high praise from his head coach.
"Cooper is an absolute force multiplier, an absolute stud of a person, stud of a teammate," Seahawks skipper Mike Macdonald said Sunday evening. "This should cement him in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. Super Bowl MVP, two-time champion, all-time great teammate.
"I think the other thing with Coop is the way he's helped our program and how we do things from day to day is not talked about enough. He's got a great perspective. I'd be an idiot not to listen to him. Sometimes we don't do what he wants, but we definitely listen to him."
Four years removed from his first time lifting the Lombardi, Kupp couldn't help but marvel at his journey back.
"It's unbelievable," the Yakima, Washington native said after Sunday's game. "To be in this place, it's hallowed ground. Only the teams that come together to fight through adversity -- you're going to see it, you're going to find times when things don't go your way. We had such a connected group. Every single person to a man would say the special thing about this group is how connected we are. A belief in each other, a genuine love for each other to see the guy next to you succeed and that made all the difference in the world."
Kupp, who joined Seattle in the 2025 offseason after eight years with the rival Rams, is the first player in NFL history to lead two different franchises in receiving yards in a Super Bowl win (92 yards for Los Angeles in Super Bowl LVI). He's also just the fourth player to win Super Bowl MVP and then later win the Super Bowl with a different team, per NFL Research (Peyton Manning, Colts and Broncos; Tom Brady, Patriots and Buccaneers; Von Miller, Broncos and Rams).
Are those novelties enough to earn Kupp, still only 32 years old, a gold jacket?
Throughout his career, Kupp has been consistently productive but not always excellent. The exception to this rule was his all-time great 2021 season, when, with Matthew Stafford under center, Kupp led the league with 191 targets, 145 receptions, 1,947 receiving yards and 16 TDs. He parlayed that campaign into first-team All-Pro honors and an Offensive Player of the Year accolade. Kupp capped that campaign off with his stellar Super Bowl showing when he reeled in the game-winning score and took home the MVP award.
Outside of that campaign, however, Kupp averages just 802.8 receiving yards per season. Solid, but not necessarily Hall of Fame caliber.
Kupp is coming off his worst statistical year since his second season in the league when he played just eight games. In 16 regular season games played, Kupp caught 47 of 70 passes for 593 yards and two scores; he added 157 yards and a score on 15 catches in the postseason.
With two more years left on his deal in Seattle (no guaranteed money remaining) and some meat left on the bone, Kupp still has time to add to his résumé and build his case. History might be on his side.
Of the eight other wide receivers to win Super Bowl MVP, only one has also led the league in receiving yards at any point in time: Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIII and led the NFL in receiving yards six times.
In addition to Rice and Kupp, four of the WRs to win SB MVP also won another title (Lynn Swann, 4; Deion Branch, 2; Hines Ward, 2; Julian Edelman, 3). None of them won a title with another team like Kupp, and only one is in the Hall of Fame (Swann).
What does all that mean for Kupp and his Hall of Fame candidacy? Only time -- and the voters -- will tell.
For now, Kupp is just living in the moment, having turned a difficult mid-division transition into another "unbelievable story."
"There were some really tough times this year for my family and I," Kupp said Sunday. "Being part of this organization, we stepped in and it wasn't smooth. It wasn't perfect or sunshine and rainbows, but day after day, my family showed up for me. The guys on this team, the coaches. It was day after day coming in willing to work. Coming in caring about the guy next to them. I was saying I've never run blocked more in my life, but I had so much fun this year. It was such a joy and the relationships with the guys here are so special and so unique. I'm incredibly thankful and the gratitude I have to be here now."
