Disaster nearly struck for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday asa late taunting penaltybreathed new life into the Los Angeles Rams. But the Seahawks recovered from the miscue for a 31-27 win in the NFC championship.
The win capped a thrilling trilogy from the NFC West rivals in which the Rams and Seahawks split their regular-season series.
This time, the conference championship was at stake, and the Seahawks advanced to facethe New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. They got a standout game from quarterback Sam Darnold on the biggest stage of his career and a late, fourth-down stop to thank for it.
Defensive stand sets up Seahawks for victory
Like in their regular-season matchups, Sunday's game was a back-and-forth affair, whose outcome wasn't determined until late. The Rams recovered from a 31-20 deficit sparked by a taunting penalty on the Seahawks and had a chance to take the lead with 4:49 remaining.
But Seattle's top-rated scoring defense came up with the stop of its season on fourth down. Matthew Stafford looked over the middle in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-4, targeting tight end Terrance Ferguson. But cornerback Devon Witherspoon was there for the pass breakup to keep Seattle's 31-27 lead intact.
From there, the Seahawks ran all but 25 seconds off the clock before punting the ball to the Rams deep in Los Angeles territory. Without a timeout in their pocket, the Rams couldn't pull off a miracle on their last drive.
Cooper Kupp comes up big against former team
The Seahawks got a big first-down conversion on the ensuing possession on a catch from former Rams All-Pro Cooper Kupp on third-and-8 to keep the drive alive.
It was a close play in which Kupp had to stretch out to reach the line to gain and bobbled the ball after being taken to the ground. Officials ruled that he completed the catch and reached the first-down marker for a Seattle first down with 3:11 remaining.
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The first-down catch capped a big second half for Kupp, who was Super Bowl MVP in the Rams' win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. He also caught a third-quarter touchdown to extend Seattle's lead to 31-20.
Sam Darnold answers critics
Darnold, who's been surrounded by questions about his ability in big games, answered them all with the game of his career. Darnold completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards with 3 touchdowns. And, unlike in previous high-profile collapses, he didn't turn the ball over.
The Seahawks scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game, capped by a run by Kenneth Walker III. Los Angeles answered to take a 13-10 lead late in the second quarter. But Darnold drove the Seahawks 74 yards in 36 seconds and found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for his first touchdown pass of the game to send Seattle into halftime with a 17-13 lead.
He then hit Jake Bobo for another touchdown early in the third quarter after a muffed Rams punt return set up Seattle in the red zone. Darnold's third touchdown pass, this one to Kupp, allowed Seattle to extend its lead to 31-20 with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter.
Smith-Njigba starred alongside Darnold with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, extending a breakout season in which he led the NFL in receiving yards.
Seahawks survive late taunting blunder
The Rams led the league in scoring in the regular season and again gave the vaunted Seahawks defense a test on a day when they racked up 479 yards of total offense. And a taunting penalty on Seattle cornerback Tariq Woolen extended a third-quarter Rams drive after a third-and-12 stop, allowing Los Angeles to score on a deep ball from Stafford to Nacua on the very next play.
But Seattle's defense came up with a stop when the stakes were at their highest. And Darnold and Seattle shut the door on a Rams comeback on their next possession.
Their reward isa rematch of Super Bowl XLIX with the Patriots, whobeat the Denver Broncosin Sunday's AFC championship.
