SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl. To get there they had to win a heavyweight matchup between the NFC’s two most evenly matched opponents, emerging from the rubber match with a 31-27 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Rams, a deserving archnemesis in every sense.
The reward? A Feb. 8 Super Bowl reunion with the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California, the same foes they faced in 2014 when Malcolm Butler’s interception of Russell Wilson cost the Seahawks a chance at consecutive Lombardi trophies.
Avoid your TVs if you don’t want to relive that play over the next two weeks.
Here is how it happened.
Sam Darnold put the emphatic punctuation on a redemptive season in which he has changed the story of his career from journeyman quarterback who wilts in big games, to an ice-cold operator that Seattle must do whatever it takes to keep from finding a new team.
He did so while still recovering from an oblique injury that nearly kept him out of last week’s tilt with the San Francisco 49ers.
“It was really incredible,” said coach Mike Macdonald. “He barely practiced. It should go down as one of the best performances in playoff history.”
Darnold was nigh flawless on Sunday night, completing 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. In a showdown with presumptive NFL MVP Matthew Stafford, it was clear the vaunted Seahawks defense would need some help.
Stafford was ruthlessly effective, throwing for 374 yards and three touchdowns himself, forcing Darnold to respond time and again. Over and over the Seahawks quarterback delivered in high-pressure situations, keeping the chains moving and converting on third down seven of 13 times.
After a sparkling start to the game, twice the Rams seemed to seize the initiative while the home team faltered. And both times Darnold brought the Seahawks back.
The first came in the second quarter when the Rams, having cut the score to 10-6, forced Seattle to punt on fourth-and-24 after the offense suffered sacks on back-to-back plays, including a self-imposed fumbled snap.
The Rams bled the clock with a grinding 12-play, 87-yard drive that took 7 minutes and 23 seconds, culminating in a 9-yard pass to wide-open running back Kyren Williams for a score.
A quick three-and-out for Seattle gave the Rams the chance to build their lead before the half.
Then the young guys showed up. Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori broke up two passes to force a three-and-out and give Seattle the ball back with 54 seconds left in the half.
Darnold drove the Seahawks down the field with passes of 10 and 42 yards to third-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The drive ended with a 14-yard touchdown toss to Smith-Njigba that put the home team back on top with 25 seconds left.
“Every time they went and scored he came back and made some big-time throws on third down,” Macdonald said. “Two-minute drive. Four-minute drive. Guy barely practiced all week.”
Those young players turned the game around and established, permanently, a new generation of Seahawks heroes taking Seattle to the pinnacle of professional football.
For a decade names like Marshawn, Earl, Russ, Sherm, Kam, Bennett, and Kearse sustained Seahawks fans who lived firmly in the era of the mid-2010s when their team was the loudest, brashest, and most talented group in the NFL.
Now they are back. And names like Emmanwori, Smith-Njigba, and of course cornerback Devon Witherspoon have entered their names into the pantheon of Seahawks legends.
The second major event that almost ended Seattle’s season came right after it seemed the Seahawks had taken control. Riq Woolen was flagged with an unsportsmanlike penalty after breaking up a pass on third-and-12 that would have given Seattle the ball back with an 11-point lead and 2:13 left in the third quarter. Woolen had broken up a pass to Rams receiver Puka Nacua and was seen taunting Rams coach Sean McVay on the sideline.
Stafford threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Nacua on the next play. Woolen was in coverage.
“Look, Riq’s done a tremendous job for us,” Macdonald said. “And yeah you’re frustrated in the moment about what’s happening. He made an emotional decision. But we’ve got to pick him up. That’s not the time to get upset. You’ve got to rebound and come back. And Riq came back and played the rest of the game.”
Another struggling defensive back came up huge for Seattle in the game’s most consequential moments.
With about five minutes left in the game and Seattle holding onto a four-point lead, the Rams drove deep into Seahawks territory, getting as close as 6 yards to the Seattle end zone. Then Devon Witherspoon swatted away potential touchdown passes on third and fourth down, giving the ball back to Darnold with a chance to ice the game.
Witherspoon, one of the team’s stars and a Pro Bowler in each of this three seasons, had some uncharacteristic missteps early in the game, falling down in coverage twice and allowing big pass plays to Davante Adams.
Darnold led the Seahawks to three first downs, taking the clock down to 31 seconds and forcing the Rams to use all their timeouts. The most pivotal came on a 7-yard third down pass to Cooper Kupp in which Darnold ran to his left as Kupp sprinted from right to left across the field, catching the ball over his shoulder and keeping it high above his head as he dove across the first-down line.
Kupp, who starred at Eastern Washington University, was a key player for the Rams for eight seasons, leading the NFL in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns in 2021.
Now the Rams’ star receiver is Nacua, who led the NFL with 129 receptions this season.
His last one went for 21 yards, but he was tackled before he could get out of bounds at L.A.’s 30-yard line, ending the game and sending the Seahawks to their fourth Super Bowl.