Rapid Reaction: Sam Darnold, Seahawks Engineer Super Bowl Berth With 31-27 Win vs. Rams
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - Silencing all of his critics once and for all guiding his team to a Super Bowl berth, Sam Darnold threw three touchdowns and eclipsed the 300-yard mark with no turnovers as the Seattle Seahawks edged the Los Angeles Rams in a thrilling 31-27 NFC Championship Game that lived up to the hype and then some.
Spreading the ball around, Darnold connected with seven different receivers, throwing touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jake Bobo, and Cooper Kupp to send Seattle to the big game for the first time since 2014. Defensively, Nick Emmanwori shined in his second postseason game, forcing three pass breakups and finishing second on the team with five tackles, while Devon Witherspoon generated two clutch pass breakups in the fourth quarter to turn Los Angeles away with no points in a decisive red zone stop.
With the Seahawks now Santa Clara bound for Super Bowl LX, here are five takeaways from a historic home victory in front of the 12s:
1. Dropping dimes regardless of pressure, “Big Game” Darnold elevates his play on the biggest stage.
Still nursing an oblique strain that prevented him from practicing in full all week and still facing doubts about whether he could throw his team to victory in a massive playoff game, Darnold put all of those concerns to rest and then some. Three plays into the action, showing no signs of his injury impacting him in the slightest, he lofted a 51-yard bomb to Rashid Shaheed on a vertical route, setting up Seattle’s first touchdown to go up 7-0 early in the first quarter. In the closing minute, he went bombs away again, this time airing out a perfect 42-yard pass down the seam to Smith-Njigba, who scored on a 14-yard pass play to end the drive as the quarterback took a massive hit and put the Seahawks up 17-13 at the break.
Continuing to fire beautiful spirals all over the field while making sound decisions with the football, Darnold took advantage of a botched punt early in the third quarter and went right into attack mode, delivering a bullet into the endzone for Bobo to make a 17-yard snag for six points. On the following drive, he struck again while facing pressure in his face and getting planted in the pocket by a pass rusher, this time benefiting from Kupp’s magic after the catch on a 13-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead back to 11 points at the 4:52 mark in the third quarter. With the game hanging in the balance inside five minutes to play, he fired first down completions to Walker and Kupp, helping the Seahawks chew crucial seconds off the clock and force the Rams to burn all of their timeouts before the three-minute mark.
2. Despite a strong start by Ken Walker III, the run game slumped until the final drive.
For the first 20 minutes, the electric Walker left plenty of jaws dropping to the floor with numerous highlight reel plays. He opened the game with as impressive of a three-run, nine-yard showing as you’ll ever see in an NFL game, showcasing his speed, power, elusiveness, and toughness as a runner, finishing a statement drive by rocketing outside and outrunning Byron Young for the right pylon to make it 7-0. Leading up to a 27-yard field goal by Jason Myers on Seattle’s second drive, he had two incredible eight-yard runs, including one that left every reporter in the press box gasping in amazement as he made linebacker Omar Speights whiff in space with a video game-like juke. In addition, he caught a 15-yard screen on that same drive to move into the red zone.
But while Walker had close to 70 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, the Seahawks couldn’t establish their run game for much of the second half. He rushed only four times for 12 yards in the third quarter, seeing his average dip below four yards per carry. The fourth quarter wasn’t much better yards per carry wise. However, the versatile back made a few more big plays in the final drive, including turning a 2nd and 6 pass play from the shadow of Seattle’s own end zone into a 15-yard catch and run, setting up the Rams to start using timeouts. He wrapped up the night with a hard-earned 111 total yards of offense, coming through in four-minute offense time to help punch a ticket to the Super Bowl.
3. Chunk play-a-palooza continued from Week 16 for a leaky Seattle secondary.
All week long, Mike Macdonald and his players emphasized playing better in all facets on defense compared to a 38-37 win last month where the Seahawks yielded over 450 yards of total offense to Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and company. Along the way, they surrendered 10 explosive pass plays, and unfortunately, that trend didn’t change on Sunday. On the second drive of the game, Nacua picked up where he left off last time he played at Lumen Field, hauling in a 44-yard deep ball against Devon Witherspoon to set up a Harrison Mevis field goal. Davante Adams beat a tripping Witherspoon on the next series for a 23-yard slant play, again leading to a 50-yard field goal that trimmed Seattle’s lead to 10-6 in the second quarter. The explosives continued on the next possession as Los Angeles finally found the end zone with Blake Corum ripping off a 19-yard run and Nacua snagging a 21-yard catch before Kyren Williams scored an easy 10-yard touchdown reception to push the visitors in front 13-10.
Even in the second half, the Seahawks couldn’t find a solution to the downfield theatrics with receivers running wide open all over the field. On the Rams first offensive possession of the third quarter, Stafford feathered a strike to Colby Parkinson for a 40-yard gain just over the outstretched arms of Josh Jobe. One play later, Jobe got toasted again, this time being victim to a 29-yard fade route to Adams, who then scored on the very next snap by beating Riq Woolen on an out route for a two-yard touchdown. By the time the night ended, Stafford had thrown for 374 yards and north of 10 yards per reception with three touchdowns and Nacua had gone for 165 yards on nine catches, once again proving to be Macdonald’s Kryptonite dicing up a normally fantastic secondary behind Sean McVay’s masterful scheming.
4. Critical mistakes be damned, Devon Witherspoon and the secondary made the plays needed with the game on the line.
Beyond getting torched for a bunch of explosive plays in the passing game and giving up 5.2 yards per carry, the Seahawks failed to play a disciplined game on defense, missing more tackles than usual and committing tough penalties at the worst of times. Nobody fell victim to that more than Woolen, who endured as poor of a two-play sequence as imaginable in the third quarter. The Rams appeared to be stopped after a third down incompletion where the fourth-year cornerback nearly picked off Stafford’s pass to Nacua, bringing the punt team on the field. However, Woolen kept jawing at Rams’ coaches and players on the sideline while being warned to stop by an official, leading to a back-breaking 15-yard taunting penalty and an automatic first down. Going right after the embattled defender, Stafford hit Nacua with Woolen in coverage on the next play for a 34-yard touchdown in a turn of events that shifted all of the momentum.
But in spite of everything bad that happened, including Woolen’s mistake that briefly left teammates frustrated, if not angry, the Seahawks stuck to the philosophy that has gotten them to this point with the No. 1 ranked scoring defense in the regular season by continuing to defend every blade of grass. After the Rams had drove down to the Seattle six-yard line, Tyrice Knight stonewalled Williams for no gain to set up 3rd and 4. Having been picked on much of the evening, Witherspoon picked the perfect time to amend for his earlier mistakes, first knocking away a third down pass to Konata Mumpfield to set up a critical fourth down decision for McVay. Opting to go for it on 4th and 4, Stafford held onto the ball and worked through multiple reads before trying to hit tight end Terrance Ferguson in the back of the end zone, only for Witherspoon to undercut the route and break up the pass for a turnover on downs.
5. Special teams continues to be a game-changer for Jay Harbaugh’s crew.
Though the Seahawks didn’t receive a special teams touchdown from Shaheed on kick or punt returns as they did back in Week 16, Harbaugh’s well-coached unit once again outclassed the Rams in the crucial third phase of the game. In the second quarter, receiver Xavier Smith muffed a punt from Michael Dickson, but receiver Dareke Young had ran past the returner and wasn’t in position to make a play on the football, allowing Smith to recover the loose ball. Fortunately, that missed opportunity provided a learning opportunity, and after Seattle punted on the opening drive of the third quarter, Smith again botched catching Dickson’s kick. This time around, Young had stopped himself in front of the returner, allowing him to recover the botched fair catch attempt.
Capitalizing off the gifted turnover, Darnold immediately recognized the Rams bringing a cornerback on a Cover 2 blitz, identifying the seldom used Bobo as his hot read. With the savvy wideout beating his defender inside on a post route, the quarterback laid it right on his hands to promptly push the lead to 24-13 mere moments into the second half. Additionally, Jason Myers went a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points and made his lone field goal attempt, while the kick and punt coverage units did a great job of swarming returners all night and gang tackling to prevent great starting field position for the Rams. In a four-point game, Young’s recovery alone proved to be all the difference, but the efficiency from other specialists cannot be understated either in the Seahawks notching a spot in the Super Bowl.
