SEATTLE – Three instant impressions after the Seahawks advanced to the Super Bowl by beating the Rams 31-27 in the NFC championship game:
Where did this come from?
Think back to September for a minute when the Mariners were in the middle of their push for an AL West title. Did anyone really think the Seahawks were about to put together a season where they were going to be viewed as arguably the best team in the NFL and eventually NFC champions?
This feels as unlikely as a Super Bowl appearance as possible compared to the previous three they’ve made. In 2005, they were an ascending team that had reached the playoff in the previous two years only to face painful exits and had the league MVP with Shaun Alexander running all over the place.
The 2013 run felt a little similar – a team that had made the playoffs the previous year and learned from that experience to put together one of the most dominant seasons and dominant Super Bowl victories. A year later was running it back and proving the previous year wasn’t a fluke with so many of the same faces back again – even if the final conclusion was rather painful.
This felt like it came out of nowhere. They had the chance to be pretty good, but ultimately it felt like this team was a year away from doing something special. Turned out they were ready. Ready for the pressure. Ready for the big stage.
And now they’re headed to the biggest stage.
Sam, I am
Sam Darnold did his job. Period. End of story. The narrative about how Darnold played in big games of the past feels dead after what he did against the Rams.
Darnold finished 25 of 36 for 346 yards, three touchdowns and most important no interceptions after he threw six of them this season over the first two games against the Rams. He was poised. He was in control. He didn’t look bothered at all by the troublesome oblique that caused so much consternation a week ago.
He threw for more than 300 yards for the first time in close to three months. The first weekend of November in Washington was the last time Darnold topped 300 yards passing. He did it with precision by rarely putting the ball into dangerous positions. There were a couple of throws where everyone held their breath, but for the most part Darnold was on point with where the ball needed to go and when it needed to get there.
And then there were the moments where he stayed in and made the throws that had the entire NFL taking notice during the first half of the season. There was the touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba late in the first half that gave Seattle a 17-13 lead at halftime, one of his 10 catches for 153 yards in a monster game from the leading receiver in the league. There was the TD pass to Jake Bobo in the early stages of the second half where he again was about to get hit but delivered the pass on time and in the right spot.
Only three quarterbacks in Seahawks history have taken their team to the Super Bowl – Matt Hasselbeck, Russell Wilson and now Darnold.
Clutch Cooper
By the standards set earlier in his career, it’s been an underwhelming season by Cooper Kupp even if his teammates have lauded what he’s provided doing the little things like blocking or being a mentor in the locker room.
It had to feel good for Kupp to contribute in the way that he did with maybe the three biggest catches he’s made this season.
First was a key conversion on third-and-9 midway through the third quarter that would have otherwise been a three-and-out for Seattle. Kupp hauled in a pass around his ankles, got the yards he needed and continued a drive that was capped by his 13-yard touchdown reception, his first TD catch at home this season.
And then for the capper, Kupp made an excellent catch with his hands on third-and-7 with just over three minutes left and got the needed yards – barely – to come up with the most important of Seattle’s seven third-down conversions on the afternoon.
Kupp has downplayed a lot this season, whether it was his return to his home state or facing his former team with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. But this had to be incredibly meaningful for the kid from Yakima.