Cameron Hogwood
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Cooper Kupp: Los Angeles Rams star reveals he had vision of winning Super Bowl MVP after New England Patriots defeat
Kupp, who was named Offensive Player of the Year, scored the game-winning touchdown inside the final two minutes as he was named Super Bowl MVP after the Los Angeles Rams' 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Last Updated: 14/02/22 6:04am
Cooper Kupp was crowned Super Bowl MVP as he inspired the Los Angeles Rams to victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night - a feat he says had been three years in the making.
The NFL's recently-crowned Offensive Player of the Year finished with a team-high eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including his one-yard winner inside the final two minutes to ice a 15-play, 79-yard drive.
Aaron Donald called the game moments later when he sacked Joe Burrow on fourth-and-one to lift the Rams to their first Super Bowl title since the 1999 season.
It marked a long-awaited second chance at glory for Sean McVay's side after their No. 2-ranked offense had been limited to just a field goal in a 13-3 defeat to the New England Patriots at Super Bowl LIII at the end of the 2018 season. Kupp was absent that day having torn his ACL earlier in the year, though reflects on the loss as an important moment in his career.
"In 2019 walking off the field that last time after losing to the Patriots, I wasn't able to be a part of that thing," he said. "I don't know what it was, there was just this vision that God revealed to me that we were going to come back, be a part of a Super Bowl, we were going to win it and somehow I was going to walk off the field as MVP of the game.
"And I shared that with my wife because I couldn't tell anybody else obviously, but from the moment this postseason started there was a belief, every game it was written already, I just had to play free knowing I got to play from victory not for victory.
"I'm just so incredibly thankful. I just felt so undeserving of what this was and that moment because the people I've been able to play with, the people I've been around, the players I get to play with, the coaches I get to collaborate with, it's just been the perfect team, the perfect setup.
"I'm just so thankful for everybody that's been around me. It still hasn't really hit me."
Kupp is coming off one of the great seasons in NFL history as he led the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and receiving touchdowns (16) before recording the most catches in a single postseason (33).
The 28-year-old has proven the focal point of a team that functions on the receiver bunches designed to stop defenses from pressing him, and the window-dressing that aim to unlock his yards-after-catch excellence.
He was there to compensate for the loss of Robert Woods to injury during the regular season, he was on the end of the 44-yard completion with 42 seconds left to set up Matt Gay's game-winning field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round, he was there to make the clutch 25-yard catch on third down to revive the game-winning field goal drive against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game, he was on hand with four catches for 39 yards and the decisive touchdown to sink the Bengals.
Such has been his impact, Kupp had even found himself floating in the MVP conversation.
"I just feel so undeserving of all these awards and accolades, I've played from a place of freedom and allowed myself to be in the moment.
"I'm so thankful for them, they're team awards, you aren't a successful receiver without the other 10 guys doing their job, all those other guys I'm just so thankful for them."
