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Cooper Kupp had career game vs. Bengals the last time they faced off

Kupp went for over 200 yards against Cincinnati in 2019.

NFL: NFC Championship-San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Cincinnati Bengals are going to be in for a challenge when they see wide receiver Cooper Kupp take the field next Sunday. Kupp has been dubbed Pro Football Talk’s Offensive Player of the Year. He earned the same award from PFWA.

It’s been an absolutely incredible year for the league’s best slot receiver.

Kupp has put together absurd performances, including 183 receiving yards against the Bucs to help the Rams get to the NFC Conference Championship, but the best one of his career wasn’t this season — rather, it was against the Bengals in Week 8 of 2019.

Kupp went for 220 receiving yards on just seven receptions. The Rams won at ‘home’ 24-10, though the game was played in London.

He hadn’t had a performance over 165 yards in the regular season aside from this dominating showing against Cincinnati. Kupp’s 31.4 yards per receiving were also mesmerizing as he tore up a weak Bengals secondary.

However, this time around, he’ll be looking at Mike Hilton, who is arguably one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL, Jessie Bates, a top-tier safety, and a secondary that shut down Patrick Mahomes a week ago.

Hopefully, the Bengals will be able to tame Kupp this time around. He’s by far the main weapon for Los Angeles, and his route running combined with his relationship with quarterback Matthew Stafford has created an elite duo.

The Bengals have quite a bit to prepare for in defending Kupp, but they managed to limit both Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill a week ago with both being considered among the five best players at their respective position.

That said, Kupp’s second meeting with Cincinnati should be drastically different from his first.