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There will be several fascinating matchups in Super Bowl LVI, but the one between Rams (primary slot) receiver Cooper Kupp and Cincinnati Bengals (primary slot) defensive back Mike Hilton will be one of the most important.
There are many things that set Kupp apart from his competition. He prides himself on his quickness and route running techniques. Despite running a 4.6 — 40 time coming out of college, his quickness out of his release and into his break is what his opponents have a hard time defending. Kupp is playing at the top of his game right now currently holding the triple crown for receivers — first in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
On defense, Hilton is currently one of the best slot cornerbacks in the game right now. According to Pro Football Focus, Hilton is in the 93rd percentile of all slot coverage grades; and our own Doug Farrar ranked him fourth among all slot corners allowing 26 catches on 39 targets with an opponent passer rating of 75.4.
When we look at the Bengals’ defense as a whole, they have done a pretty good job locking down number one receivers this season. They held Justin Jefferson to only 5 receptions for 71 yards and 0 touchdowns. Keenan Allen had 5 receptions for 34 yards. In their last matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tyreek Hill only went for 78 total yards, and 40 yards in week 17. The Bengals aren’t allowing 100+ yard reception games from any single receiver very often.
Hilton brings a different kind of toughness as a nickel corner, similar to Jalen Ramsey’s physicality where he can blitz, penetrate through blockers, drop into zone coverage but he performs his best when one-on-one shadowing receivers across the field using his 4.5 speed.
Hilton has lined up on 83% of his snaps in the slot/nickel spot, and when we look at Kupp, he has been in the slot 63% of the time. So, it will be unlikely that Hilton will follow Kupp around the field, but when they are matched up in the slot expect a press coverage defense.
This isn’t the first time these two lined up across from each other. Back in 2019, when Hilton was with the Pittsburgh Steelers, these two faced off and the Steelers came out on top,12-17.
The most impressive part was how Hilton locked Kupp down, allowing no receptions on four targets.
Went back to 2019 to check out Mike Hilton vs Cooper Kupp when Hilton was still on the Steelers. It was often where the Steelers just let Hilton take on Kupp 1-on-1. We may see a similar gameplan in the Super Bowl.
Kupp went 0 receptions on 4 targets that day 👀 pic.twitter.com/kW7WXza0NP
— Laurie Fitzpatrick (@LaurieFitzptrck) February 7, 2022
The 2019 tape showed a lot of press coverage, where Hilton lined up right on the line of scrimmage across from Kupp.
Hilton is either in hard-press coverage, putting his hands on him disrupting his release, or in soft press, letting Kupp get off the line of scrimmage but staying hip-to-hip preventing separation throughout his route. In both coverages, it’s physical.
When the Bengals are in man coverage, expect them to leave Hilton on Kupp one-on-one until he reaches the top of his rout,, that is when the safety will come down to help prevent additional yards after catch.
We saw a similar game plan from the Bengals in the AFC Championship game against Tyreek Hill, who obviously brings a rare speed element to his slot opportunities..
In order to stop these speedsters, the defense must bracket them at the top of their route. This is still one-on-one, but with help over the top.
Hilton lines up with outside shade forcing him inside, funneling him into his help over the top.
This shade allows Hilton to break towards the ball if the play goes underneath, or he can trail his original man using his speed to catch up to maintain his leverage.
Earlier in the season, Hilton faced off against Las Vegas Raiders slot receiver Hunter Renfrow.
Hilton is lined up with the same outside shade forcing Renfrow into his safety but as he breaks outside the two are left one-on-one and Hilton uses his speed to catch up preventing the completion. Renfrow only totaled 58 yards on the day.
It’s important for any defender to line up with the outside shade in press against Kupp. He is a master at his craft and if you play off coverage, giving him room to juke you, he will do just that.
There will be times throughout the game where Hilton won’t have any help at all over the top. For instance, if Kupp is going to the outside, we may see them go at it mano a mano.
Back in 2019, we saw Kupp attempt to get outside and when Hilton attempted to stop him, it ended in a defensive pass interference penalty.
Expect the matchup to be physical if Kupp is forcing his way to the outside.
If the Rams want to isolate Kupp with Hilton, expect them to move some receivers around pre-snap.
If the Rams come out in trips, and Kupp is lined up in the middle, the Rams may motion the inside slot receiver to the other side of the field, taking away the help for Hilton. Here, the safety may be helping the outside cornerback). This is similar to a situation the Bengals saw against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
On this play, Hilton is lined up directly in front of Byron Pringle. There is no shade or leverage in any direction, this gives Hilton a fair chance to keep up with the receiver no matter where he decides to cut. As Pringle is running a deep crosser behind the backside linebacker, Hilton uses his closing speed and physical defense at the catch to break up the pass.
When Hilton is playing off-coverage or has to catch up at the top of the receiver’s route, expect some physicality and a jersey grab making it tough for the receivers to secure the catch.
If the referees are allowing these guys to play on Sunday, expect Hilton to have a good day.
What makes Hilton one of the NFL’s best slot corners is his ability to tackle. Kupp is known for being one of the best run blockers at his position, so not only will we see them face-off during the pass, but also when the Bengals are defending the run.
This is where Hilton does his best work. In both clips above, Hilton sheds his blocker to make a play on the back.
With Hilton winning their first matchup in 2019, expect Kupp to want revenge. Over the last two years Kupp has transformed into one of, or arguably the best receiver in the NFL, but he was still dominant in 2019,.
Now with Matthew Stafford throwing him the ball, expect a better outcome for Kupp than his performance back in 2019, but that also means even more physicality (and more shutdown opportunities) from Hilton.
He who wins these battles might be in the lead for the next Lombardi Trophy.