Seahawks earn trip to Super Bowl LX with thrilling win over Rams in NFC Championship Game

With a trip to Super Bowl LX on the line, the third meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams was another exciting shootout in the Northwest.

But just like the last overtime game between these NFC West foes, the Seahawks defended home-field advantage.

The Seahawks head to Santa Clara to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX after their 31-27 victory over the Rams on Sunday night.

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It was an offensive avalanche in this game, with a combined 28 points in the third quarter, highlighting what was going to be a suspenseful fourth quarter.

The biggest moment in this back-and-forth battle came on play 14 of the Rams’ first drive of the fourth, when head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford decided to go for it at the Seattle six-yard line on fourth-and-4.

A touchdown would have given the Rams the lead, and Stafford didn’t seem to want to leave the field trailing by four points with 4:54 left in the game.

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While backpedaling, Stafford surveyed the end zone and attempted to pass to Terrence Ferguson, but Devon Witherspoon was in blanket coverage and fumbled on the attempts.

It was a massive stop for a Seattle defense that held an 11-point lead until a crucial mistake by Riq Woolen, who was called for a mocking penalty on the Rams’ previous drive after a stop on third-and-12. The 15-yard penalty allowed Stafford and company to stay on the field, and made Woolen pay with a touchdown pass to Puka Nacua to make the game 31-27.

But Sam Darnold, who played tremendously throughout the contest, knew the game was in his hands. A few first downs and bleeding the Rams’ remaining timeouts would seal a job well done and the NFC title.

A big play came from Darnold, when he found senior receiver Cooper Kupp on third-and-4, and Kupp stretched out to take the first down and keep the drive alive. The call seemed like one McVay could have challenged, but since he would have missed a timeout, he kept the red flag in his pocket rather than take the risk.

Maybe it could have led to an overturned decision on the first down, but hindsight is 20/20 when running back Kenneth Walker III and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba did what was necessary to ice this game.

Stafford had a miraculous chance with 25 seconds left to play, but with no timeouts left, the Rams hung their heads after Nacua was called in bounds on a catch, ending the game in heartbreak.

But not for the Seahawks and their famous “The 12” fan base, who were celebrating their trip back to the Big Game for the first time since 2014. And isn’t it fitting that they face the Patriots, the team that beat them in Super Bowl XLIX with Russell Wilson’s goal-line interception of Malcolm Butler?

Aside from the Rams’ botched fourth-down play, their other big mistake came on special teams, when returner Xavier Smith muffed a punt that was recovered by Seattle, which turned into a Jake Bobo touchdown. That was the double-digit gap the Seahawks were hoping for, with the score moving to 24-13 after that tremendous throw by Darnold.

Speaking of which, Darnold was 25 of 36 for 346 yards with three touchdown passes, including one to Smith-Njigba (10 catches, 153 yards) in the first half and the other to Kupp (four catches, 36 yards) in the third quarter. He played a perfect game, which was necessary considering what Stafford was doing on the other end.

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He was 22 of 35 for 374 yards with three touchdowns as well, finding Davante Adams (four catches, 89 yards) and Kyren Williams.

Nacua led the game with 165 yards on nine receptions, but the Seahawks’ efforts would be nothing without Walker, playing once again without his counterpart Zach Charbonnet, who is out for the rest of the season, setting the tone. He had 111 yards from scrimmage with his rushing score.

Thus, the Super Bowl, the last game of the 2025 NFL season, is set for February 8 at Levi’s Stadium.

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