SEATTLE, WA– A career day from Sam Darnold and costly miscues proved too much for the Los Angeles Rams, who lost a 31-27 heartbreaker to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 25th at Lumen Field.
With Los Angeles facing fourth-and-4 at the Seattle 6 with 4:59 remaining, coach Sean McVay elected to go for it and Matthew Stafford’s pass was broken up in the end zone by Devon Witherspoon. The Rams didn’t get the ball back until there were 25 seconds left, and Puka Nacua was tackled inbounds near midfield on the final play.
The Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XL in Santa Clara on Sunday, February 8th. Seahawks Quarterback, and former USC Trojan Sam Darnold had his signature performance against the hapless Rams secondary.
Coming in, Darnold hated facing the Rams, never earning a win until tonight. Completing 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards with no turnovers. Seahawks Wide Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 153 yards receiving — the second-most in a playoff game in franchise history — and a touchdown on 10 catches.
Former Ram and Super Bowl XLI MVP Cooper Kupp got revenge against his old team. Catching 4 passes for 53 yards and a touchdown in the win.
“It’s amazing,” Darnold said. “To be able to do it with these guys in this locker room, though, with this coaching staff, that’s why it means the world to me.”
Quarterback Matthew Stafford finished 22 of 35 passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
Untimely defensive and special teams miscues at other points in the game cost the Rams a trip to the Super Bowl.
For instance, a muffed punt by Xavier Smith in the third quarter was recovered by the Seahawks deep in Rams territory. On the next play, Darnold connected with Jake Bobo for a 17-yard touchdown and a 24-13 lead.
The Seahawks led 31-20 late in the third quarter on Darnold’s 13-yard TD pass to Cooper Kupp, but the Rams got back into the game when Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen was flagged for taunting after breaking up a pass to Nacua on third-and-12, giving Los Angeles a first down.
Scoring a TD with 2:06 left in the third quarter and the Rams trailing 31-26, pundits and fans believed L A. should have gone for the two-point conversion to make it a three-point difference at 31-28.
Rams Coach Sean Mcvay chose instead to kick the extra point to make the score 31-27. The final points the Rams would score this season.
Plain and simple the wrong choice. but that decision directly led to a fourth-down call late in game rather than a game tying field goal that effectively ended the Rams’ comeback attempt.
McVay was emotional speaking to reporters at the podium. He said this year’s squad was “as special of a group top to bottom as I’ve ever been around” and expressed his gratitude for the team. He wanted two more weeks to work with them, and that won’t happen now, which only added to the postgame disappointment.
The Rams’ defense had forced at least two turnovers in each of the past three games, but didn’t have one against the Seahawks.
It’s obvious the Rams Secondary was awful in the NFC Title. Constantly allowing the Seahawks to convert time and time again on critical third downs.
The secondary looked good enough at times this year despite no star in the defensive backfield. Over the course of the year however, erosion set in before the Seahawks busted open in the most important game of the year.
The Seahawks are in the Super Bowl in only the second year of head coach Mike Macdonald’s tenure. For the first time since the 2014 season, the Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl. They will play the Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl 49.
