As Puka Nacua cradled the no-look pass from Matt Stafford for a 1-yard touchdown, the capacity crowd filling Lumen Field on Thursday night went quiet in disgust.
They’d just endured a collective gut-punch from the Rams, who were celebrating a little too gleefully in the end zone.
The silence turned to grumbling and then more than a smattering of boos. In their most important game of the season, with a division title at stake, the Seahawks were slogging their way to an embarrassing drubbing. Trailing 30-14 with just over 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter was a suboptimal scenario.
And really, they’d shown minimal reason — both offensively and defensively — that the projected outcome would change. A few embittered fans exited, looking to beat the soul-crushing, postgame traffic. Most remained, but their energy had been diminished by skepticism and frustrating reality.
When the Seahawks failed to answer the score and instead turned it over with Sam Darnold being intercepted for the second time in the game, more fans exited and more booing ensued. Lumen was growing gloomier than the weather of the past few weeks.
And than Rashid Shaheed happened.
“He changed the game,” said Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
With Seattle’s defense finally forcing the Rams to punt on a three-and-out, Shaheed reawakened the fans and rejuvenated the Seahawks’ victory hopes with a scintillating 58-yard return for a touchdown.
Shaheed caught the high punt between the hashmarks with no tacklers near him. Without hesitation, he sprinted ahead, veering left as planned. There wasn’t a tackler within 5 yards. He accelerated past teammate Patrick O’Connell, who delivered a key block for a lane. Three Rams made fruitless diving attempts, touching him with a hand, but barely slowing him down as he raced for the sideline. He managed to not allow his momentum to carry him out of bounds, staying right on the edge of the boundary as he raced toward the lunacy that is the crowd in the North Endzone.
“Based on the field position, we knew we were going to be able to get a return,” Shaheed said. “We were focused on that left return, field return all week. We knew that they had kind of a weak point with their special teams, and we were able to make a big play.”
Acquired from the Saints before the trade deadline, Shaheed now has a kick return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown since joining the Seattle. Only four players in franchise history have done both in a season. He’s done it in three games.
“That’s cool to think about,” he said. “But shout-out to the other guys that allowed me to make those plays, and this is because of all them.”
When Sam Darnold found Cooper Kupp for the two-point conversion, the Seahawks trailed just 30-22.
“I feel like the whole vibe of the stadium changed,” Shaheed said. “We turned it back into (a) one-score game. And once that happens, you know you’ve got a shot and there’s plenty of time left. All we had to do was get a few stops.”