The Seattle Seahawks are going back to the Super Bowl after surviving another hard-fought matchup with the Los Angeles Rams in a 31-27 victory in the NFC Championship Game. The Seahawks will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX in their first Super Bowl trip since 2014 where they also faced the Patriots.
Super Bowl LX will be the first Super Bowl ever that both starting quarterbacks (the Patriots' Drake Maye and the Seahawks' Sam Darnold) and both head coaches (the Patriots' Mike Vrabel and the Seahawks' Mike Macdonald) are in either their first or second season with their respective teams, per CBS Sports Research.
After the Seahawks took a 17-13 lead into the halftime locker room, the game turned into an offensive fireworks show through the air. A Rams' muffed punt set up the Seahawks at the Los Angeles' 17, and Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold immediately capitalized on the Los Angeles' special teams miscue by hitting wide receiver Jake Bobo in the middle of the end zone on a play-action pass for a 17-yard touchdown on the very next play.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford responded by completing all three of his ensuing passes for 71 yards and a touchdown to get Los Angeles back within four, 24-20, with 9:41 left in the third quarter. The four-play, 75-yard scoring drive lasted just 2:21. Stafford kickstarted the drive with a 40-yard deep ball down the right sideline to tight end Colby Parkinson. After a four-yard run by running back Blake Corum, Stafford hit Davante Adams for gains of 29 yards and 2 yards, the last of which was a touchdown on a goal line out route. No flinching for the Rams after the special teams meltdown.
On the next drive, former Rams Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Cooper Kupp came back for the football on a third-and-3 at the 13, and then he rumbled into the end zone to put Seattle back up 11, 31-20, with 4:52 left in the third quarter. Los Angeles then faced a fourth-and-12, but Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen taunted the Rams' sideline to draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to extend the drive. On the very next play after Woolen's unsportsmanlike penalty that extended the drive, Stafford and Puka Nacua burned him on a vertical route down the left sideline for a 34-yard touchdown as he fell backward into the end zone. That put the Rams back within four of the Seahawks, trailing 31-27, with 2:06 left in the third quarter.
Los Angeles' defense then stood tall to force a punt to get Stafford the football back with 7:24 remaining trailing by the same 31-27 margin. The Rams then converted six first downs to drive 79 yards down the field, but the Seahawks' defense didn't break. Stafford's fourth-and-4 throw to the middle of the end zone from the six to tight end Terrance Ferguson was broken up by All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon to force a crucial turnover on downs That came on the heels of Witherspoon also breaking up an end zone throw to Konata Mumpfield on third down. The Seahawks dropped nine into coverage on the fourth down play, and it worked. Seattle clung 31-27 with 4:54 left to play, and they picked four first downs to just about burn the rest of the time off the clock to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LX.
Both Darnold (346 yards passing and 3 passing touchdowns on 25 on 36 passing) and Stafford (374 yards passing and 3 passing touchdowns on 22 of 35 passing put on a show. Their top targets, the Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba (153 yards receiving and a touchdown on 10 catches) and the Rams' Puka Nacua (165 yards receiving and a touchdown on 9 catches, did too, but the Seahawks defense was able to produce the one last stop required to survive and advance.
Takeaways
Seahawks' Devon Witherspoon earned All-Pro status, rich contract extension
Yes, a 31-27 victory doesn't exactly say defensive masterclass, but Witherspoon's two clutch plays on the Rams' penultimate offensive drive are a major reason why the Seahawks are Super Bowl-bound.
It looked as though Stafford was going to be able to squeeze a sidearm, scrambling throw into the front right corner of the end zone to Mumpfield, but Witherspoon got his hand in the throwing lane at the last second. He then did the same on a throw over the middle to Ferguson to unofficially seal an NFC championship game victory. Even though the Rams got the football back, there were only 25 seconds remaining, and Los Angeles' last drive began at their own 7. Witherspoon knocked away the Rams' last real shot to take the lead, and that's a critical reason why the Seahawks are NFC champions.
Sam Darnold leveling up to make Eli Manning-like run to the Super Bowl
Back in 2007, Eli Manning co-led the NFL with 20 turnovers in the regular season before putting together an all-time playoff run that concluded with him ending the Patriots' quest for a perfect season in Super Bowl XLII. That made Manning and Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly in 1992 as the only quarterbacks to reach the Super Bowl after leading the NFL in turnovers in the regular season.
Until Darnold this season. He owned sole possession of the NFL's turnovers title with 20 in the regular season, but like Manning in 2007, he's found another level in the playoffs. Darnold played turnover-free football across Seattle's divisional round and NFC title game victories, throwing for a combined 470 yards and four touchdowns while completing just under 70% of his passes, 69.8% (37-53) to be exact. Now, he has a chance to complete the retrace of Manning's footsteps with a victory over the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Matthew Stafford's carry job comes up just short in effort to return to the Super Bowl
Stafford became just the third quarterback to lose a playoff game despite throwing for at least 370 yards (374), 3 passing touchdowns and no interceptions, joining Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith (2013 season) and New England Patriots QB Tom Brady (2017 season) in a unique, tough luck club. He produced the first first team All-Pro season of his career at the age of 37 by leading the NFL in passing yards (4,704) and passing touchdowns (46), but Stafford just couldn't find the end zone one last time on the Rams' penultimate possession. A strong year with a disappointing finish for the borderline Hall of Fame quarterback.
