Seattle Super Bowl MVP Calls For NFL Rule Change

The Seattle Seahawks rushed for 200 yards against the Arizona Cardinals in their 44-22 Week 10 victory at Lumen Field – and then they didn’t. 

Thanks to victory-formation kneel downs, the Seahawks rushing total fell underneath the coveted 200-yard mark, leaving Seattle star receiver Cooper Kupp feigning frustration at his post-game press conference. 

“Can we fix this kneel down rule,” Kupp asked a room full of reporters. The comment was met with some laughs and nods as Kupp surveyed the room searching for the right words.  “It’s gotta be… It’s gotta… be… right?”

‘Can We Fix This Kneel-Down Rule?’

Indeed, as the receiver has become known for, he was accurate about all the details and finer-points of plays in question. Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock entered the game in the fourth quarter. After the two-minute warning, Lock began to kneel the clock out. His first kneel, as Kupp brought up, was credited as a negative two-yard rush. Another two negative one-yard rushes later, and the Seahawks sat at their final: 198 yards rushing. Two shy of 200. Lock finished with four carries for -4 yards. 

“Last thing, Drew’s (Lock) first kneel down he stepped way too far back,” Kupp said, holding back a laugh. “You gotta step forward. It’s alright. We’ll address it tomorrow with him.”

The receiver smiled, knowing to make light of something like a rushing total meant the offense had an elite day.  

Seahawks Ground Game Earned the Headline

GettyKenneth Walker and a balanced rushing attack dominated the Arizona Cardinals, piling up nearly 200 yards until kneel-downs.

The Seahawks put the game in their running attack’s hands after jumping out to a huge lead and recording a few unfortunate turnovers. The result was a pounding attack that left Arizona helpless.

Zach Charbonnet led the Seattle rushers with 83 yards and a touchdown, while Kenneth Walker added in 14 carries for 67 yards, third-stringer George Holani tacked on 31 yards on seven carries and a touchdown, and new trade acquisition Rashid Shaheed even had moments in the run game, getting two carries for 20 yards.

“That was awesome,” Kupp said. “The backs were running great. I thought the O-line did an awesome job as well. It’s not just about being positive — the explosives that came out of the run game, those are the kind of plays that make offenses very dangerous when you can be explosive in both facets of your offense.”

Kupp knew about explosives against the Cardinals, too. 

Part of the reason he was in high spirits after missing some practice time this past week with heel and hamstring injuries, likely came from his big play on the day. He only recorded two catches against the Cardinals, most of the yardage coming after a single play where a scramble from Sam Darnold found him wide open near the sideline, and Kupp exploded for 67 yards – coming up just shy of the end zone. Asked how his injuries felt on the play, Kupp responded.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it until I got to the 10-yard line and I felt like I was running the last leg of the 400-meter dash,” Kupp said. I couldn’t get that one into the end zone. I’ll have to try again soon.”

Locker Room Vibe Matches the Box Score

Kupp’s gentle jab at Lock — “step forward” on the kneel — is the kind of inside-baseball ribbing that surfaces when a team dominates. It signals confidence, cohesion and a group comfortable enough to poke fun at minutiae on a day they checked the big boxes: explosive plays, red-zone execution and a closer’s finish.

It also matters that Kupp did his damage while managing heel and hamstring issues. Turning a broken play into a 67-yard catch-and-run is a reminder of the gravity he brings to the formation. Even on a one-catch line, the threat alters coverage and opens space for the run game. That’s a winning tradeoff in November.

Big-Picture Takeaway

Seattle didn’t need the stat sheet to validate what the tape showed: a front five winning leverage and a backfield punishing arm tackles. If anything, the kneel-down quirk underscores how thoroughly the Seahawks controlled the script. The win stacks cleanly with how contenders finish games — physicality first, style points second.

Whether the NFL ever tweaks the kneel-down rule is out of Seattle’s hands, but Kupp said the quiet part out loud for a lot of players and fans. In a league obsessed with precision, there’s nothing wrong with box scores that better reflect reality.

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