SEATTLE – After one of the most inexplicable comebacks in the 50-year history of the Seahawks, it came down to one final two-point play from the 2-yard-line.
And in what might have been the easiest play of the comeback, Sam Darnold found a wide-open Eric Saubert in the front of the end zone for a two-point conversion that gave the Seahawks a 38-37 win over the Rams in front of a delirious crowd at Lumen Field.
The wacky nature of the win almost overshadowed its meaning, which is immense.
The Seahawks are 12-3 and took over first place in the NFC West from the Rams, who fell to 11-4. It also clinched a playoff spot. Seattle also took over sole possession of the top seed in the NFC and will need only to beat Carolina and San Francisco the next two weeks – albeit each on the road – to get a bye in the first round of the playoffs and home field advantage until the Super Bowl.
The Rams grabbed the lead to begin overtime on a 41-yard Matthew Stafford TD to Puka Nacua, which gave L.A. 581 yards, the most ever gained in a game against the Seahawks.
Under new overtime rules, the Seahawks got the ball and scored on a 4-yard TD pass from Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to cut the lead to 37-36. They had to go for the win since a tie would have been as good as a loss in terms of the tiebreakers.
Darnold initially lined up in a shotgun before the Rams called a time out.
After the Seahawks lined up for the play and Darnold began the snap count, coach Mike Macdonald called a timeout of his own.
The Rams got no rush on Darnold, who had time to wait for Sauber to come open in the front of the end zone and complete a comeback in a game in which the Seahawks trailed 30-14 with under 10 minutes left in regulation.
The comeback made up for a 21-19 loss to the Rams last month in Los Angeles in which Seahawks kicker Jason Myers missed a 61-yard field goal on the final play. The were also the overtime loss here against the Rams last October that was essentially the difference in deciding the NFC West title.
Down 30-14 with under 10 minutes remaining and the Rams holding the ball, the Seahawks used a punt return, a bizarre two-point play and a revived defense to tie the game in the span of just 1:40.
The tie came on one of the more inexplicable two-point conversions in Seahawks history if the annals of the NFL.
A pass from Darnold initially appeared to be incomplete after going through the hands and off helmet of L.A. defensive end Jared Verse.
The ball ended up in the end zone and was initially ruled an incomplete pass, which would have left LA ahead 30-28.
But Zach Charbonnet picked the ball up in the end zone as the play ended.
And after the teams lined up for the kickoff, the play was reviewed, and it was determined it was a backward pass and a live ball and hence two points for the Seahawks thanks to Charbonnet’s recovery. It was officially called a rush for Charbonnet.
The play came after a 26-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to tight end AJ Barner.
They got more good fortune when L.A.’s Harrison Mevis missed a 48-yard field goal with 2:06 remaining to leave the game tied.
Stafford threw for 457 yards against the Seahawks in a game in which the Rams seemed to have control from the middle of the second quarter through to the middle of the fourth before a comeback that figures to be dissected for ages.
The game appeared over when Darnold threw his second interception of the game – and sixth this season against the Rams – to L.A. defensive lineman Kobie Turner at the 1-yard line, who returned it to the 11 with 9:39 remaining.
But the Rams went three-and-out and had to punt from their own 15.
Rashid Shaheed fielded a poor punt by Evans in the middle of the field at the Seattle 42. He used good blocks from Patrick O’Connell and Ty Okada to find an opening down the left sideline and was gone.
Darnold hit Cooper Kupp on a slant for the two-point play to cut the lead to 30-22 with 8:03 remaining.
The Seahawks forced another three-and-out and got the ball back at their own 43 with 7:02 left and quickly drove the field to score on a 26-yard TD pass from Darnold to Barner with 6:23 to play.
The game had appeared to turn L.A.’s way midway through the third quarter when Rams cornerback Josh Wallace jumped in front of a Darold pass intended for Shaheed and returned it 56 yards to the 1. Blake Corum scored on the next play to put L.A. ahead 23-14 with 6:30 to play.
It was the first career interception for Wallace, a second-year player who finished his college career on the Michigan team that beat UW for the national title.
Wallace was initially covering Kupp in the slant, but as he saw Darnold looking to Shaheed he broke off and jumped in front of the pass.
The Rams appeared to put the game away when they forced a punt on the next series and drove 85 yards in nine plays to score on a 1-yard pass from Stafford to Nacua. The key play was a 58-yard pass from Stafford to Nacua that took the ball to the Seattle 4.
The Rams were facing a third-and-three at their own 38, and the Seahawks brought a blitz with linebackers Ernest Jones IV and Drake Thomas coming up the middle.
But the Rams picked it up, and Stafford had time to wait for Nacua to get open in the middle of the zone. He broke out of a tackle attempt by safety Coby Bryant and was kept out of the end zone thanks only to a tackle by Nick Emmanwori.
Any doubt as to the outcome was decided on the next series. The Seahawks marched to the L.A. 6 hoping to keep some suspense alive. But on third down Darnold tried to sneak a pass to Smith-Njigba, who had just caught a pass to set the franchise single-season record for receptions in a season (he had shared it with Tyler Lockett at 100).
Instead, the ball went right to defensive end Kobie Turner, who had dropped into coverage, at the 1.