-
Brady Henderson
Seattle– Sam Darnold The best part came when he stepped onto the lectern inside Lumen Field late Thursday night, while a celebration was going on in the Seahawks’ locker room next door, and began his postgame remarks about a thrilling win that punched Seattle’s ticket to the playoffs.
“That was crazy,” the quarterback said.
You can’t blame Darnold for the hint of disbelief in his voice after an incredible comeback to help his Seattle team win against a division-rival. Los Angeles Rams,
In a battle of 11–3 teams with first place in the NFC West on the line, the Seahawks trailed by 16 points in the fourth quarter after two Darnold interceptions, putting the Rams on the doorstep of a season sweep that would have ended almost any chance for Seattle to win the division.
But Darnold and the Seahawks came back strongly, scoring two touchdowns to force overtime and another touchdown in the extra period. They converted two-point attempts after all three scores, the last of which gave them a 38–37 win when Darnold hit a tight end pass. Eric Saubert In the back of the end zone, sending Lumen Field into a frenzy.
The win gives the Seahawks a one-game lead in the NFC West standings with two games remaining, and it puts them in the driver’s seat for the conference’s No. 1 seed.
The Seahawks escaped an uncharacteristically bad day due to their defense, which allowed 581 yards and seven completions, leading by at least 25.
“I don’t think we played our best football,” Darnold said. “I definitely didn’t play my best football. We have a lot of work to do out there, but at the end of the day, we won. That team in that locker room, all the guys in that locker room, we work so hard for moments like that. … We’ll continue to move forward and get better, but those guys in the locker room really deserve a win like this against a good team.”
The story was completely written Thursday night about how the Los Angeles defense has Darnold’s number made up. The Rams finished their Pro Bowl 2024 season minnesota vikings He was sacked nine times in the wild-card round last January, then had four interceptions in a 21-19 win over the Seahawks at So-Fi Stadium in November.
Darnold threw two interceptions in a span of three possessions in the second half, the first of which set up a Rams touchdown that put them ahead 23–14 heading into the third quarter. They led 30–14 when they picked off Darnold for the second time midway through the fourth.
But as soon as the game appears to be over, it will turn into a disaster, Rasheed Shaheed Started Seattle’s rally by returning a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. Seahawks force overtime with 26-yard Darnold touchdown pass to tight end aj barnerDarnold then responded to Matthew Stafford’s touchdown drive in OT with a fumble of his own, Jackson Smith-Njigba in the end zone and then hitting Saubert for the winning two-point attempt.
“Just shows a true competitor,” Smith-Njigba said. “A lot of people get down on themselves and give up, give up, but we don’t do that, that’s not who he is. That goes for the whole team. I’m excited to have a leader in Sam.”
McDonald said the Seahawks had internal discussions earlier this week about potentially kicking the PAT in the situation they found themselves in at the end of the game, knowing that a tie would be good enough to secure their playoff berth.
“But I felt really good about my game and I trusted my players,” he said. “and to [offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s] Credit too, he was really convincing. And then the player finally makes it happen. “Once we started that campaign, it became very clear what we were going to do.”
Darnold completed 4 of 5 attempts for 47 yards on the game-winning drive. On the two-point attempt, Saubert was last in his stride.
“Sam is amazing,” Saubert said. “He knows his stride every step of the way. I had a chip, came in late. Sam found me. It was amazing.”
According to ESPN Research, before this game, the Seahawks were 0-155-0 all time when trailing by more than 16 points in the fourth quarter.
“Continuous, resilient are some good words,” Saubert said. “We have a team full of guys who just fight, and that’s awesome [battle] Every week with these guys. As you can see, no matter what the circumstances, we just keep trying.”
Darnold led a field goal drive in the final minutes on Sunday to give the Seahawks an 18-16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
On Thursday night, he completed 22 of 34 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver, caught eight passes for 96 yards and a TD.
The Seahawks got 100 rushing yards and a touchdown from Kenneth Walker III. He set up Zach Charbonnet’s touchdown run with a 46-yard gain on a screen in the first quarter. Walker’s TD came on a 55-yard run in the third quarter, as Seattle’s struggling run game finally broke through on the way to 171 yards.
Charbonnet made a conscious play on Seattle’s second two-point attempt. Darnold tried to hit him on a quick screen, but his pass was deflected and was initially ruled incompletion. Charbonnet caught the ball in the end zone, and Seattle was awarded a successful try after officials reviewed the play and determined that Darnold’s pass went backward, meaning it was a fumble which Charbonnet recovered.
The Seahawks entered Week 16 allowing the second fewest points of any defense. McDonald’s unit held the Rams to 249 yards passing in the first meeting with the Rams before being defeated on Thursday night. Matthew StaffordBut despite losing three defensive backs in the fourth quarter — Nick Ammanvori, kobe bryant And rick woolen – They were forced to work overtime.
McDonald said Bryant’s knee injury “is not automatically season ending,” and Emmanwori has cleared concussion protocol. He had no idea about the severity of Woolen’s knee injury.
“I think there were some moments of miscommunication for us where they got open in the back of the field where we were just miscommunicating, not on the same page,” the linebacker said. Ernest Jones IV Said. “I think that turned it around and we were able to get on the same page for those three 3-outs.”
Jones said the unnamed Rams players were laughing at the Seahawks with a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Darnold and the Seahawks got the last laugh.
“This is the guy we see every day,” McDonald said. “Same guy every day, no matter the situation. He’s an ultimate competitor. He’s a phenomenal leader. Just keeps fighting and staying away. We weren’t worried at all. That’s Sam.”
