Photo Credit: AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson
For the first time since the 2014 season, the Seattle Seahawks are heading back to the Super Bowl. Led by stellar performances from Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks beat NFC West rival, and long-time thorn in their side the Los Angeles Rams 31–27 in the NFC Championship, advancing to the Super Bowl where they will take on the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX.
After their two regular-season matchups both came down to the final play, fans were expecting another great game, and they got one. With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, both the Rams and Seahawks came to play.
On Seattle’s opening drive, Darnold hit Rashid Shaheed on third down for 51 yards to set up a two-yard Kenneth Walker touchdown. Puka Nacua had 12 catches for 225 yards the last time the Rams played the Seahawks, and slowing him down was one of my three keys for Seattle. Matthew Stafford looked Nacua’s way early and often, and on the ensuing Rams drive he hit Nacua on a go ball, beating star cornerback Devon Witherspoon for 44 yards to set up a field goal.
Both teams would trade field goals on their next two drives. The Rams then took the lead just after the two-minute warning on a nine-yard Kyren Williams touchdown reception. It was the first touchdown the Seahawks had allowed since Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers.
Seattle got the ball back with 54 seconds left and a chance to take the lead heading into halftime. Sam Darnold delivered a strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 42 yards, Smith-Njigba hung on after taking a hard hit and then put an exclamation point on the drive with a 14-yard touchdown to give Seattle a 17–13 lead at the half. Smith-Njigba had over 100 yards in the first half and finished the game with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown.
The Seahawks went three-and-out on their opening drive of the third quarter and punted to Xavier Smith, who had muffed his first punt earlier in the game and guess what?… He did it again.This time, Dareke Young jumped on the loose ball, giving Seattle prime field position. Smith was benched for the rest of the game in favor of Kyren Williams returning punts.
It took just one play for the Seahawks to capitalize, as Darnold hit Jake Bobo in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. Seattle was up 24–13, and it felt like they had a chance to shut the door. If the Seahawks could get a stop or force a turnover, it seemed like they could really take control. But I got to give Matthew Stafford and the Rams credit, they never quit.
The Seahawks defense, which had been excellent in recent weeks and had limited big plays, gave up several on Sunday, allowing the Rams to respond in a big way. Los Angeles marched down the field in four plays in under three minutes, set up by a big play to Davante Adams, who capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown.
Darnold and the Seattle offense answered once again, slicing through the Rams defense. Darnold hit former Ram Cooper Kupp for a touchdown to put Seattle back up by two scores. Who scored his first touchdown in Seattle.
On the Rams’ next drive, Tariq Woolen nearly intercepted Stafford on third-and-12, and it looked like Seattle would get the ball back with a chance to milk some more clock. However, a late flag changed everything. Woolen was called for taunting, giving the Rams an automatic first down. On the very next play, Stafford hit Nacua in the end zone for a touchdown, over Woolen, nonetheless.
Momentum appeared to swing toward the Rams, but surprisingly, Sean McVay elected not to go for two, leaving the Rams down four. The Seahawks punted on their next drive, and Stafford, who had been heating up, drove the Rams down the field with under five minutes left.
After breaking out of a DeMarcus Lawrence sack on fourth down and scrambling for a first down, the Rams faced another fourth down, this time 4th-and-4 on the Seattle six-yard line. With Lumen Field as loud as ever, Devon Witherspoon, who had struggled earlier, made up for it by breaking up a pass in the back of the end zone intended for Terrance Ferguson, preserving the Seahawks’ lead.
Darnold made several big throws to burn the clock, but Seattle couldn’t run it down to zero. The Rams got the ball back with 25 seconds left. Stafford hit Nacua over the middle for 23 yards, then spiked the ball with 10 seconds remaining. He found Nacua again on the sideline, but Witherspoon made a huge tackle to keep him in bounds, and the clock expired—sending the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl.
It wasn’t the cleanest game, especially defensively, but it was just enough. Seattle pulled out a four-point victory over the Rams.
Sam Darnold shut up a lot of haters, finishing with 346 yards and three touchdowns. With Zach Charbonnet out, Kenneth Walker stepped up in a big way, totaling 111 yards on 23 touches and scoring a touchdown. Cooper Kupp’s stat line of four catches for 36 yards and a touchdown, wasn’t eye-popping, but he delivered when it mattered, especially late in the fourth quarter with a crucial third-and-seven conversion on Seattle’s final drive.
For the Rams, Stafford and Nacua did their thing. Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, while Nacua had nine catches for 165 yards and a touchdown. Davante Adams added four catches for 89 yards and a score, but the Seahawks defense made the plays that mattered most.
The Seahawks have now reached the Super Bowl all four times they’ve earned the No. 1 seed. This time, they did it with a second-year head coach in Mike Macdonald, a new quarterback, an unproven wide-receiver core entering the season and, once again, a great defense.
The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 8, meaning we’ll have to wait two weeks for the big game in Santa Clara, California.
