The Rams’ offseason begins today, one day after their attempt to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since their 2021 championship season, with a 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game in Seattle.
The Rams outgained Seattle 479 yards to 396 and led 26-24 in first downs but committed the only turnover, which the Seahawks converted to a touchdown one play later. The Rams had forced Seattle to punt on the opening possession of the second half but Xavier Smith muffed Michael Dickson’s punt, with Dareke Young recovering the ball for the Seahawks at the Rams’ 17-yard line.
“He was looking at us running down there, took his eye off the ball,” Young said. “Dickson was kicking great punts all game, and it’s like he wasn’t comfortable catching them. I knew when I missed (recovering) the first one, I knew that I would have an opportunity to make a play and I did.”
Smith also muffed Dickson’s first punt in the second quarter, but was able to recover the ball.
“We were lucky to get back on it,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. McVay replaced Smith as the Rams’ punt returner after the second muff with Kyren Williams who made two fair catches without a fumble. Sam Darnold threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to former UCLA standout Jake Bobo on the next play, increasing Seattle’s lead to 24-13 2:58 into the second half.
Bobo made two receptions in the regular season, a total he has matched in the postseason.
“Bobo is the man,” Darnold said. “He stepped up for us in other ways throughout the season blocking, doing his thing on (special) teams, but he came up big as well last week with that third-down conversion.” The Rams responded with a four-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Matthew Stafford’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
However, the Seahawks regained an 11-point lead on the next possession on Darnold’s 13-yard touchdown pass to former Ram Cooper Kupp. Stafford threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua on the Rams’ next possession, again pulling with four, 31-27, with 2:06 left in the third quarter.
The Rams drove to Seattle’s 6-yard line on their first possession of the fourth quarter. The drive ended with Stafford throwing back-to-back incomplete passes on third-and-4 from the Seahawks’ 6-yard line with 4:54 remaining. The game ended with Stafford completing a 21-yard pass to Nacua who was tackled at the Seahawks’ 49-yard line before he was able to get out of bounds to stop the clock.
“I thought our guys played well,” McVay said. “We got a lot of what we wanted today. I felt good about the way our guys executed, specifically on the offensive side. That was a situation where we just kind of came up short. They’re an excellent team. You don’t take away anything. They earned the win. And they’re NFC champs for a reason.”
The victory advances Seattle to the Super Bowl Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, where they will face the New England Patriots, a 10-7 winner over the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game Sunday in Denver. The Seahawks will be making their first Super Bowl appearance since
the 2014 season when they lost to New England, 28-24. Darnold will become the first former USC quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. He completed 25 of 36 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns Sunday and was sacked three times for 25 yards in losses.
Stafford completed 22 of 35 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked once for a 9-yard loss. The Rams led 13-10 1:55 before halftime but never regained the lead.
Seattle took the lead for good on Darnold’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 20 seconds left in the first half, completing a six-play, 74-yard drive that took 34 seconds.
The Seahawks scored a touchdown and kicked a field goal on their first two possessions to take a 10-3 lead. Kenneth Walker ran 2 yards for a touchdown on Seattle’s first possession, with Darnold completing two of three passes for 67 yards. The Rams responded with a 44-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis.
Jason Myers kicked a 27-yard field goal on the ensuing possession for the Seahawks. Mevis kicked a 50-yard field goal and Stafford threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Williams on the Rams’ next two possessions to give them a 13-10 lead.
The Rams were successful on one of eight third-down conversion attempts, 12.5%, and one of two fourth-down conversion attempts, 50%. The Seahawks were successful on seven of 13 third down conversions, 53.8%. They did not attempt a fourth-down conversion.
“I love this team, and I wasn’t ready to stop working with them,” McVay said. “I thought we had two more weeks together. But I am really grateful for each of those individuals and the collective. It’s as special of a group that, top to bottom, as I’ve ever been around.”