Rams fall to Seahawks 31-27 in NFC Championship Game; Seattle to face Patriots in Super Bowl LX
The Seattle Seahawks are heading to Super Bowl LX following a stunning 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Facing the Seahawks and the raucous "12th Man" crowd at Lumen Field in Seattle, the Rams were unable to overcome a back-and-forth contest and earn their third Super Bowl appearance under head coach Sean McVay.
It was the third matchup of the season between the two teams, which ended in Seattle's favor 2-1 with Sunday's victory.
NFL MVP favorite Matthew Stafford finished the game with 374 yards passing and three touchdowns while star receiver Puka Nacua had five catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.
The Seahawks were led by Sam Darnold, who had 346 yards and three passing touchdowns. After turning the ball over six times against Los Angeles in the regular season, he had zero turnovers on Sunday night. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL in receiving yards, finished the game with one touchdown on 10 catches and 153 yards.
"It's amazing," Darnold said after the game. "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."
The former USC Trojan and San Clemente native struggled in his playoff debut with the Minnesota Vikings last year. Despite that, he signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with Seattle ahead of the season, by far the largest contract of his NFL career after he was drafted No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in 2018.
Seattle will now face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, who earned their spot earlier Sunday with a narrow 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos. The big game is being hosted at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is scheduled for Feb. 8 at 3:30 p.m.
First half
The Rams offense started the game with a quick three-and-out, allowing the Seahawks to jump to an early 7-0 lead after a big reception that saw Sam Darnold perfectly place a pass to the speedy Raheed Shaheed. The play made way for a Kenneth Walker rushing touchdown, his fourth of the playoffs.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams answered back on their next drive, quickly moving down the field to set up Harrison Mevis for a 44-yard field goal. Seattle would drive down the field in the next possession, which ended in a 27-yard Jason Myers field goal and a 10-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
Again, the Rams would move down the field for another scoring drive after Mevis nailed a 50-yard field goal, putting them within one score. They would briefly take the lead with their next possession after stopping Seattle's offense for the first time when Stafford found a wide-open Kyren Williams for a 9-yard touchdown, making it 13-10 with less than two minutes in the first half.
Despite the small window of time, Darnold led the Seahawks down the field and sent them into the half with a 17-13 lead by capping off their drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Second half
The Seahawks received the ball to begin the second half, and despite the Rams stopping their drive short of a score, Xavier Smith muffed the punt while falling backwards. Seattle recovered the ball at the 17-yard line and scored on their next play, a touchdown pass from Darnold to Jake Bobo.
Stafford quickly led the Rams down the field and tossed an easy touchdown to Davante Adams to bring them within one score at 24-20.
Seattle again answered, capping off a scoring drive with a 13-yard touchdown from former-Ram and Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp, giving them a 31-20 lead. The Rams released Kupp after the 2024-25 season, ending his eight years in LA.
Perhaps the most important moment of the game happened in the final minutes of the third quarter, when what would've been a defensive stop from Seattle was nullified by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on defensive back Riq Woolen, which gave Los Angeles a second life and a first down. Their next play was a stellar 34-yard touchdown catch by Nacua as he was falling out of bounds.
The Rams stopped the Seahawks on their next drive, gaining possession with the chance to take the lead. Despite converting on one fourth down on the drive, Seattle successfully stopped the Rams short in the red zone when Devon Witherspoon broke up Stafford's pass.
With their backs against the end zone and ball on the six-yard line, Seattle drove down the field methodically as time continued to wind down. A decisive third-and-eight saw Kupp make another big catch against his former team as a successful slant ended in a Seattle first down. They punted the ball with just 25 seconds left in the game, giving Los Angeles one final chance to earn the win.
They fell just short as Nacua failed to get out of bounds on a long pass as time wound down, sending the Seahawks to the Super Bowl for a rematch of Super Bowl LXIX in 2015. The matchup infamously ended up in New England's favor, 28-24, when Malcolm Butler intercepted then-Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson on the goal line.
New England previously topped the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC Wild Card round, as their defense dominated the Bolts in a 16-3 win. They also beat the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round last weekend, 28-16.
What's next
The Rams have a massive "what-if" as their season comes to a disappointing end. Stafford, who will turn 38 in February, could be mulling retirement, leaving the team's offense with a massive hole. The majority of the team's key players are still under contract next season, and with approximately $45.6 million in cap space and several picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, the quest for a potential replacement will certainly be an interesting story as McVay searches for his next franchise QB.
Seattle is searching for their second-ever Super Bowl title. Their previous win came in 2013, when they dominated the Broncos 43-8. This is their first playoff appearance under head coach Mike Macdonald, who was hired ahead of the 2024 season. Macdonald previously coached under both Jim, at the University of Michigan, and John Harbaugh, with the Baltimore Ravens, in recent seasons.
