Cooper Kupp scored the touchdown that gave the Seattle Seahawks a chance to climb back into Monday night’s game. A day after the Chicago Bears pulled away for a 34-17 win, the veteran receiver had three words for what came next.
“Back to work,” Kupp wrote on Instagram, alongside a Week 8 photo carousel tagged at Lumen Field.
Kupp had more to say in his postgame press conference. He pointed to the short drives that kept sending Seattle’s defense back onto the field and explained where the receivers could do more to help quarterback Sam Darnold. The Seahawks have a short week to address both before the Arizona Cardinals come to Lumen Field.
Cooper Kupp Pinpoints What Went Wrong Against the Bears
“Way too many three-and-outs,” Kupp said after the loss. “Way too many short drives.”
Seattle converted one of 11 third downs and frequently needed long gains just to keep a drive alive. Chicago sacked Darnold three times, a week after Seattle had kept him from taking a sack against Kansas City.
Kupp gave Chicago’s secondary credit for disguising coverages and playing its safeties aggressively while the front got pressure. He also put some of the responsibility on Seattle’s receivers. When Darnold escapes the pocket, Kupp said, the receivers need to spread out and give him places to go with the ball. That was one adjustment Kupp singled out before he’d even watched the film.
His own touchdown showed how quickly Seattle could get back into the game with a short field. DeMarcus Lawrence forced and recovered a fumble at the Chicago 25, and Darnold found Kupp for a 7-yard score. A two-point conversion cut the Bears’ lead to 20-17 with 11:46 left. Chicago scored twice more, with the second touchdown coming after a tipped Darnold pass was intercepted and returned to the Seattle 6.
Seahawks Need More Around Jaxon Smith-Njigba Before Cardinals Game
Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught six passes for 118 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown. He accounted for nearly two-thirds of Darnold’s 188 passing yards, and no other Seahawk had more than 26 receiving yards.
Kupp said Smith-Njigba has earned that kind of attention. The other receivers, he said, have to compete on plays when the ball goes elsewhere and make the most of the chances they get. His point about Darnold extending plays put a finer point on that job. A receiver who was covered on the original route can still give the quarterback a throw once the play breaks down.
Seattle fell to 4-4 with the loss and hosts Arizona on Sunday, Nov. 8. The Seahawks had two touchdown passes against Chicago, one on a 43-yard strike and the other after the defense handed them the ball 25 yards from the end zone. Against Arizona, the first thing to watch is what Seattle does on first and second down, before Darnold has to bail out another drive on third-and-long.
Seattle Seahawks Star Cooper Kupp Posts Blunt Message Amid Offensive Struggles