Any game with the Los Angeles Rams the past few years has been stressful for Seattle Seahawks fans. And any time Tom Brady talks, it’s a traumatic reminder of the 28-24 Super Bowl 49 defeat.
Put them together, as they were Sunday night on Fox’s broadcast of the NFC championship game at Lumen Field, and just about every fingernail in the Northwest may have been chewed to the nub.
At least they have a couple weeks to grow back.
They’ll be needed after the Seahawks found a way to get past the Los Angeles Rams 31-27, a game Kevin Burkhardt and Brady brought into our homes.
It was, as Burkhardt said while the Hawks celebrated their second win in three tries against L.A., the game didn’t disappoint.
The Rams had two chance to take the lead in the final minutes. The first one was stymied inside the 10 with a fourth-down stop and less than five minutes left. The second? L.A. had 25 seconds and 93 yards to go. It couldn’t. Not against a Seahawks’ defense that carried them to Santa Clara and Super Bowl 60.
And Brady? New England may be the opponent, but he won’t be in the booth. NBC has the game.
What they saw …
The broadcast caught all the big moments, from the muffs to Riq Woolen’s unmuffled screams that almost cost the Seahawks the game. From Matthew Stafford’s on-target passes to Kenneth Walker’s hard-earned 62-yard solo rushing act. From Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 10 catches to Puka Nacua’s nine, the last of which ended just a few inches from giving the Rams one last Hail Mary.
After the Hawks found a way to stop L.A.’s second-to-last possession at the 6-yard line, Burkhardt summarized the Rams’ true last gasp and the Hawks’ task in two sentences.
“A 14-play, 84-yard drive, seven and a half minutes, and nothing,” he said of Stafford’s failure. “Now the Seahawks, 4:51 away from a possible trip to the Super Bowl. But they’ve got work to do.”
They did just enough, moving the ball past midfield and killing all but 25 ticks on the clock.
• A bounce here or there can decide a game with two teams as even as these two have been all season. One came in the second quarter, another right after halftime. And they had a connection. The Rams’ Xavier Smith.
As Brady and Burkhardt documented, Los Angeles’ special teams have been its main weakness in a 12-5 regular season. It showed again after the Hawks’ first second-half possession. A possession that ended in a Michael Dickson punt.
Smith, who muffed a second-quarter punt but was able to fall on it, did it again. But this time he stumbled backward, the ball hit off his shoulder and Dareke Young fell on it at the Rams’ 17.
One play later, Seattle was in the end zone, with Sam Darnold finding Jake Bobo. “Tell me you had that on your bingo card,” Burkhardt said before noting that was Bobo’s third catch of the season – and first touchdown.
Brady did a good job of explaining how it happened and, of course, it was due to the presence of Smith-Njigba. The Rams’ secondary slanted his way and Bobo came free.
The other muff? It came late in the second quarter. That time, instead of the ball bouncing away, it stayed near Smith’s feet and he was able to pounce on it.
A wild bounce? Seattle, up 10-6 at that point, is looking at a two-score lead at the half. Instead, the Rams put together their best drive. Milking the clock, they covered 87 yards, mainly on the ground, scored their first touchdown and led 13-10 with 1 minute, 55 seconds left before intermission.
They followed that up with a three-and-out and got the ball back with 93 seconds left. That was enough time for another bounce of momentum. Thanks to a defensive breakdown Burkhardt and Brady couldn’t fathom.
Not by the Hawks. They forced a three-and-out. But by L.A., at the end of a 74-yard drive that took 34 seconds. With a second-and-goal from the Rams’ 14, Seattle positioned Smith-Njigba in the backfield behind Cooper Kupp.
Kupp settled short, JSN continued on, the Ram defense flowed elsewhere and he was open by about 5 yards – each way – in the end zone.
“I just don’t know how you lose track of JSN,” Brady said, the incredulousness showing in his voice. “When he’s in the backfield, he’s the primary receiving target.”
What we saw …
• The first words out of Brady’s mouth Sunday were enough to want to mute the TV. But as that was impossible for some of us, so just like the Seahawk defense, we soldiered on despite adversity.
What did Brady say, when asked by Burkhardt to dissect the Rams offense against the Hawks’ recent stifling defense?
“That’s what it’s all about today,” Brady said. “The unstoppable force meeting the immovable object.”
If that was the first play on his offensive script, it might be time to fire the coordinator, right? Too much of a cliché. And with a week to prepare.
What was really sad was Brady’s next few sentences were smart. Pithy. Right on point. And should have been the first words out of his mouth.
“Seattle’s D makes everything so tough,” he continued. “They have incredible size, team speed, their scheme, their ability to win so many one-on-one matchups is the best in the league.
“So today is all about the Rams’ ability to produce on first down.”
He went on to talk about the Rams having to display patience with the run and be surgical with their passing attack. They did, rushing 22 times for 114 yards, and Matthew Stafford was 22-of-35 passing for 374 yards.
And one other thing. Brady also emphasized how hard second- and third-and-long is at Lumen Field.
• Not for the Seahawks. At least that last part.
The Hawks’ first possession? Facing a third-and-5 at their 24, Darnold went over the top. To Rasheed Shaheed, of course. He beat Darious Williams off the line, there was no safety support and Darnold’s pass was good enough – Brady called it “an A throw,” but it slowed Shaheed a bit – for a 51-yard pickup. Four plays later Walker’s shifty 2-yard run gave Seattle a 7-0 lead.
• What is more important: A 15-yard well-deserved taunting penalty on Riq Woolen that gave the Rams a third-quarter first down after a third-down stop? Or his inability to stay anywhere near Nacua on the next play, a 34-yard touchdown pass that pulled L.A. within four points and killed Seattle’s momentum entering the final quarter? Or maybe the sideline confrontation between Woolen and Nick Emmanwori the Fox’s cameras caught after the score?
The first one. After Nacua’s score, there were 17 minutes of football left. The Seahawks pitched a shutout. With or without fingernails.