Rapid Reaction: Seahawks Pull Off Comeback, Stun Rams 38-37 in Overtime
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) runs against the Los Angeles Rams in the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - Erasing a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter and going for the win with the game on the line in overtime, Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks orchestrated a comeback for the ages with a two-point conversion to tight end Eric Saubert sealing an unlikely 38-37 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Rebounding from two ugly interceptions in the third quarter, Darnold led the game-tying and game-winning drive in the fourth quarter and overtime, tossing touchdown passes to AJ Barner and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Ken Walker III paced the run game, ripping off a 55-yard touchdown to open the second half. Defensively, Demarcus Lawrence forced a key turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter and the team held firm at the end of regulation to lead to a Harrison Mevis missed field goal.
Recapping a wild, wild night at Lumen Field, here are five quick takeaways from Seattle’s monumental playoff-clinching win:
1. Aided by explosive plays, and quite the two-point oddity, the Seahawks showed their mettle fighting back.
Following their opening drive touchdown, thanks to Darnold’s two picks and Kupp’s fumble along with an uncharacteristically poor defensive performance, the Seahawks were outscored 30-7 from the middle of the first quarter until the 8:18 mark in the fourth quarter. At that stage, down 30-14, the game seemed to be more than out of reach. But Shaheed came to the rescue, running underneath Ethan Evans’ punt and rocketing past multiple defenders before tip-toeing along the sideline, managing to stay inbounds as he raced 58 yards for the touchdown to bring a dead stadium back to life. Darnold followed up with a two-point conversion completion to Kupp, cutting the deficit to a one-score game at 30-22.
Rejuvenated by the special teams theatrics, Seattle forced a three-and-out defensively, quickly getting the ball back into Darnold’s hands. Shaheed took a jet sweep around the right edge on the first play and took off for a 31-yard gain, setting up Darnold for a play action strike downfield to Barner, who hauled the ball in at full extension and held on through the ground for six points. The ensuing two-point conversion left the quarterback’s hand and bounced off defensive end Jared Verse’s helmet and into the end zone for an incompletion, leaving the score at 30-28. But as Jason Myers prepared to kick off, officials reviewed the play and declared the throw a lateral with Charbonnet recovering for two points in the end zone to tie the game in bizarre fashion.
2. Unlike the first battle, turnovers ended up not costing the ‘Hawks in the end, though they certainly didn’t help.
Losing by two points in the first matchup in Los Angeles, the Seahawks managed to keep things close despite one of Darnold’s worst outings as a pro with four interceptions. For nearly a half, with the quarterback keeping the ball out of harms way, they avoided the turnover bug. But the run of good fortune came crashing down inside a minute to play at the worst of times. On the verge of tacking on a field goal at minimum before halftime, Cooper Kupp caught a crossing route over the middle and turned upfield into the red zone, only for safety Kam Curl to punch the ball out of his hands for a fumble. The Rams wound up recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchback, sending the home team to the sideline with nothing to show for their efforts on what had been a quality two-minute drill.
Trailing 16-14 inside seven minutes to play in the third quarter, Darnold went to the well a few too many times trying to connect with Rashid Shaheed on a quick slant on 3rd and 8. Not fooled by the play, cornerback Josh Wallace moved off his receiver and jumped the route, picking it off and returning it 56 yards down to the Seahawks one-yard line. On the next play, the Rams capitalized with running back Blake Corum punching it in from a yard out. When there still appeared to be a glimmer of hope after the quarterback marched Seattle into the red zone, Darnold folded again, this time taking a shot in the pocket and telegraphing a throw right into the hands of defensive tackle Kobie Turner, sucking out whatever air was left in the stadium with fans gradually starting to head to the exits.
3. An encouraging fast start on offense returned to feast-or-famine status, luckily leaning to the former late.
After scoring six points in the first half of each of the past three games, the Seahawks could not have asked for a much better start on Thursday night. Following a fourth down run stop by Demarcus Lawrence that turned the Rams over, Walker hauled in a quick throwback screen from Darnold and turned to find a caravan led by Grey Zabel out in front of him, accelerating for a 46-yard gain down to the Los Angeles five-yard line. Two plays later, with Zabel pancaking Turner at the point of attack, Charbonnet barreled through the teeth of the defense for a touchdown, putting the home team out in front 7-0 early.
Unfortunately, that quick touchdown drive wasn’t a precursor for future success, at least until the final quarter and overtime. The next two drives were stymied by self-inflicted mistakes and resulted in three-and-outs, as tight end AJ Barner dropped a short pass from Darnold on the second series and guard Anthony Bradford set the team behind the sticks with a false start on first down on the next series. Those rapid fire possessions coupled with a speedy two-minute drill that concluded with the killer Kupp fumble to close out the half led to the Seahawks having less than 10 minutes with the football in their hands, contributing to the defense getting worn down before intermission. Luckily, the Seahawks kept playing for 60 minutes, and Darnold shook off his earlier mistakes to lead both the tying and game-winning touchdown drives, finding Barner on a deep corner route and Smith-Njigba on a crosser in the back of the end zone, finishing on a strong note.
4. Looking like shells of their usual selves, the Seahawks had no answer for Stafford and downfield passing game.
Prior to Thursday night, only one team had been better than Seattle at limiting big plays in the passing game, ranking second in explosive pass plays allowed (52) behind only New Orleans. But after getting sliced and diced by Matthew Stafford and Puka, they probably won’t even be in the top 10 by the end of Week 16. Suffering from unexpected breakdowns and lapses on the back end with a minimal pressure up front, Macdonald’s secondary yielded 10 pass plays of 16 yards or more, with Nacua accounting for three receptions of 41 yards or more, including a 41-yard score that gave the Rams the lead at 37-30 in overtime. He started things off with a 54-yard reception at the end of the first quarter, setting up a Mevis field goal. Xavier Smith followed up in the second quarter with a 48-yard catch, again leading to a field goal to cut the deficit to 7-6.
From there, Stafford continued torching Seattle’s defensive backfield, with Nacua hauling in a 58-yard catch late in the third quarter before catching a one-yard touchdown that pushed the advantage to 30-14. Moments before Mevis’ potential game winner sliced wide right, tight end Terrance Ferguson came free for a 27-yard completion to move into Seahawks territory, and at that point, the visitors seemed to have wrestled momentum back. The same could be said on the overtime score to Nacua, who couldn’t have been more wide open if he ran a route in rural Montana with defenders scattered all over the place and nobody covering him. Remarkably, Stafford threw for 457 yards, with Nacua accounting for 225 of them by himself, and did so in defeat in large part due to missed chances in the first two quarters.
5. Red zone defense salvaged what could have been a lost cause, creating the opportunity for the comeback to begin with.
Speaking of those missed chances, Stafford, Nacua, and coach Sean McVay will be lamenting poor red zone execution in the first three quarters, as they started off one for four scoring touchdowns on those drives. After the Seahawks stonewalled Williams on fourth down on the opening series, the Rams marched all the way down to the half yard line, going for it with Stafford hitting Ferguson in the back of the end zone for what appeared to be a game-tying touchdown. But officials flagged the visitors for an illegal man downfield, and McVay had to send out the field goal team and take three points instead of seven.
On the very next possession, Stafford’s third down throw in the red zone to tight end Davis Allen fell incomplete and the Rams again appeared poised to go for it on 4th and 2. But this time around, McVay decided to exercise caution and a delay of game penalty knocked them back five yards before Mevis came out again for another short field goal, keeping the Seahawks in front 7-6. Fast forwarding to the early stages of the third quarter, linebacker Ernest Jones hauled down Williams for a one-yard loss following quick penetration by defensive tackle Byron Murphy II on 3rd and 2, once again forcing a field goal that put the Rams in front 16-14. If any of those possessions would have resulted in six points, the miraculous comeback never could have even got off the ground, a testament to the defense’s resiliency.
