American Football
Thursday Night Thriller: Seahawks surge from behind to beat Rams in overtime, claim NFC’s top seed and division lead
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The Seattle crowd had a distinct, prime-time buzz on Thursday night prior to kickoff between the Seahawks and Rams. Los Angeles came in leading the NFC West on a tiebreaker over Seattle after the Rams beat the Seahawks in Week 11. Both teams started the evening at 11-3 prior to what would be a back-and-forth battle.
The Rams were without wide receiver Davante Adams in this game, who leads the NFL in touchdown catches this season. Rams head coach Sean McVay was aggressive with his decision making to make up for Adams’ absence. Los Angeles attempted three fourth-down conversions on its first two drives.
The Seahawks struck first with a quick touchdown drive built by their two running backs, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Walker took a screen pass 46 yards to the Rams’ 5-yard line and Charbonnet found the end zone one play later.
Charbonet described Walker’s screen and guard Grey Zabel’s impact on the play, “I think Ken was setting him up, but moving down the field. Grey was flying.”
Los Angeles followed with its second scoring drive at the end of the first quarter after an early field goal. A 27-yard reception from tight end Davis Allen took the Rams across midfield where they would convert their third fourth-down attempt of the quarter.
Los Angeles found the end zone but the touchdown was negated by a penalty on guard Justin Dedich who came in for Kevin Dotson after Dotson was injured on the previous play. The Rams settled for a field goal, making the score 7-6 in favor of the Seahawks.
The Seahawks struggled to close out the first half. Seattle’s only chance to score was spoiled by a Cooper Kupp fumble deep in Los Angeles territory. Addressing the fumble, Kupp said, “Great play by Kam Curl, great job. I’ve got to do a better job of holding the football there. Big time play, big opportunity to double dip before half, just got to hold the ball better.”
The Rams finished the first half strong with a field goal and a touchdown, taking a 13-7 lead to the locker room. The field goal was set up by a 54-yard reception from Puka Nacua, and the Terrance Ferguson touchdown came off a run-heavy drive that set up a play-action throw from Matthew Stafford for the score.
Seattle opened the second half with a 55-yard touchdown run from Kenneth Walker to regain the lead after only four plays. Walker had his best game of the season on Thursday, finishing with 164 total yards and the one touchdown.
The Rams settled for another field goal early in the third quarter. Their defense came up big on the ensuing Seahawks drive with cornerback Josh Wallace intercepting a Sam Darnold pass and returning it 56 yards to the Seattle 1-yard line. Blake Corum scored on the next play giving the lead back to Los Angeles at 23-14.
The Rams’ defense continued to complement its offense by forcing a punt on the next Seahawks drive, giving the ball back to Matthew Stafford as the game went to the fourth quarter. Stafford would find Nacua for another big reception, this time for 58 yards, taking the ball to the Seattle 4-yard line. Stafford found Nacua two players for a 1-yard touchdown on a no-look throw. The Rams took a 30-14 lead on the drive.
After the Seattle offense returned to the field, Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 27-yard reception that took the Seahawks into Rams territory. The Seattle offense drove to the Los Angeles 6-yard line, but Darnold threw another interception to defensive tackle Kobie Turner. The Seahawks gave the ball back to the Rams, down by two scores with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Seattle’s defense returned to the field and set up the biggest momentum swing in the game. Defensive end Demarcus Lawrence stuffed Blake Corum twice to force a Los Angeles three-and-out.
Rasheed Shahid awaited the ensuing Rams punt near midfield. Los Angeles punted the ball to the Seattle 42-yard line, where Shahid fielded the kick and found a gap to the left side. Shahid darted up the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown on the return. The Seahawks would convert a 2-point conversion attempt as Darnold found Cooper Kupp in the end zone.
Shahid said, “Based on the field position, we knew that we were going to be able to get a return. We’ve been focused on that left return all week. We knew that they had kind of a weak point with their special teams and we were able to circle the punt return team and make a big play.”
Down 30-22, the Seattle defense forced another Los Angeles punt, giving the ball back to its offense with seven minutes remaining. After two plays the Seahawks found themselves down only two points. Sam Darnold hit A.J. Barner for a 26-yard touchdown pass, making the score 30-28.
Seattle set up for a two-point conversion attempt looking to tie the game. Darnold threw a screen pass to Zach Charbonnet that was knocked down making the play a failed attempt. Charbonnet picked up the ball in the end zone after the incompletion.
As the teams set up for the ensuing kickoff, it was announced the previous play was under review. The replay official ruled Darnold’s throw as a backwards pass, making the ball live as it went to the ground. Charbonnet’s recovery in the end zone now made the play a successful conversion, tying the game at 30 in bizarre and dramatic fashion.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said, “They said they were looking at it, so then we started to look at whether it was a backward or not. We didn’t notice it in real time.”
The Rams had one last chance to end the game in regulation as they drove to the Seahawks’ 29-yard line. Harrison Mevis’ 48-yard field goal attempt went right.
The Seahawks won the coin toss in overtime and deferred to the Rams. Stafford and Nacua continued their dominance in the game as the Rams drove into Seahawks territory. From the Seattle 41-yard line, Stafford found Nacua on a crossing route for a touchdown. Nacua would finish with 12 receptions for 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Stafford threw for 457 yards with three touchdowns.
Seattle took the ball in overtime needing a touchdown and an extra point to extend the game. The Seahawks leaned on the pass as Darnold found Smith-Njigba and Kupp for two big gains of 17 yards and 21 yards, respectively. The Seattle drive went all the way to the Los Angeles 4-yard line. Darnold found Smith-Njigba in the back of the end zone for the crucial touchdown.
After the score, Mike Macdonald went for the win, the division lead and claim to the NFC’s top seed with a two-point conversion attempt. After progressing through every option on the play, Darnold found Eric Saubert in the front of the end zone, winning the game for the Seahawks.
On the decision to go for two Macdonald said, “It was something we had talked about really throughout the season and then really particularly for this game because of the playoff situation. You know, do you play for the tie and lock up a playoff seed. I just felt great about our play and I trusted our guys. To Klint’s (Kubiak) credit, he was really confident and then the players ultimately make it happen. Once we got that drive going it was pretty clear what we were going to do.”
Saubert is in his ninth NFL season and had only two catches this season prior to Thursday night. On the game-winning conversion Saubert said, “Had a chip on the defensive end. Help out the left tackle. I knew I was late in the progression. Sam (Darnold) is amazing at going through his progression. He found me late, and I kind of blacked out after that, so I can’t tell you anymore.”
Thursday night was perhaps the game of the NFL season. It sets up a duel between these two teams down the stretch in the standings. The Seahawks face the Panthers on the road next week, where the Rams lost in Week 13. The Seahawks close against the 49ers the following week and the Rams face the Falcons and the Cardinals to end their regular season. The NFC West currently has three teams in the playoffs with the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers holding the one, five and six seeds, respectively.
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