SEATTLE — In the end, the Seattle Seahawks got the last laugh.
There is no love lost between the Seahawks and the rival Los Angeles Rams. They spent nearly all of Thursday’s Week 16 rematch at Lumen Field barking at each other before, during and after plays. Rams edge rusher Jared Verse said this week he doesn’t like the Seahawks. The feeling is mutual in Seattle.
So, when the visitors led by two scores in the fourth quarter, they puffed their chests out and, according to the Seahawks, started taunting their opponent.
“Laughing,” Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “Crazy. They thought it was over with.”
It wasn’t. A team that has chosen “Mission Over Bulls—” as its mantra for the season knew that as long as the clock was ticking, there was a chance. The mission, not only for the evening but for the season, was still within reach.
“It’s disrespectful to the game,” said Jones, whom the Rams traded away in August 2024. “It’s too much time left on the clock for you to be thinking it’s over.” Jones declined to say who, specifically, was doing the taunting.
“But they know,” he said. “And we won.”
When the clock finally stopped ticking, the scoreboard read: Seahawks 38, Rams 37.
The significance of those numbers cannot be overstated. By outlasting the Rams in overtime of the Lumen Field regular-season finale, Seattle (12-3) put itself in position to make sure every postseason game is played on this same turf. The Seahawks hold the No. 1 spot in the NFC with two games remaining, at the Carolina Panthers (7-7) and San Francisco 49ers (10-4). They clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2022 and are in good position to win the NFC West for the first time in five years.
“Feels amazing,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. “Been in this league for 11 years and only been to the playoffs once. To know we’re already going to the playoffs with a few games left, it’s just amazing. We have an incredible team.”
It’s also a resilient one. Nothing better illustrates that than the demeanor of Sam Darnold, whose most important passes might be the ones he throws on the sideline. Between every series, when it appears the offense is on deck, the veteran quarterback gets off the bench and plays catch with a teammate to get warmed up for the upcoming possession. He does this virtually every drive, no matter what transpired during the previous series.
His routine is essential to Seattle’s success. For the Seahawks to contend for a championship, Darnold must be unflappable. After throwing two backbreaking interceptions to dig Seattle into a 16-point hole, he finally came through in a big moment, calmly leading a nine-play, 65-yard drive in overtime. On that series, he completed passes of 17, 21, 2 and 5 yards to put the Seahawks on the 4-yard line.
“It just shows he’s a true competitor,” Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said. “A lot of guys would get down on themselves and give up, lay down. But that’s not what we do. That’s not who he is. That goes around to the whole team. Excited to have a leader in Sam.”
On first-and-goal from the 4, Darnold scanned the field, got to the backside of his progression and threw a dart in the back of the end zone to Smith-Njigba, who wasn’t the initial read on the play. Trailing 37-36, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald didn’t hesitate to throw two fingers in the air and let his team know it was going for the win.
“It shows how much he believes in our ability to make plays,” receiver Rashid Shaheed said. “That’s huge. It’s just all belief.”
The theme of this Seahawks season has been how often different slogans have come to life on Sundays. Here’s one often uttered by tight end AJ Barner: “No route is dead.” It’s a reminder for all the pass catchers that even if you’re last in the progression, expect the ball.
“If you have a route, you can get the rock,” Barner said as music bounced off the walls inside a victorious Seahawks locker room. “A prime example is Saub.”
Saub is Eric Saubert, a veteran blocking tight end who entered Thursday’s game with only two catches this season. He was not the first, second or even the third read on the game-winning 2-point conversion in overtime. Smith-Njigba said none of the Seahawks’ practice reps of that play ended with Saubert catching the ball. But Saubert knew his route wasn’t dead. His catch had the entire team partying on the turf.
“I feel incredible, man,” said Saubert, who technically still has only two catches this season, because 2-point conversion attempts do not count toward official statistics. “Feeling the love from my teammates. We just got some dogs on this team that fight all the way through. It’s sick.”
The Rams (11-4) took a 30-14 lead with 13:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. That’s when the heckling began. “They started talking a little bit more,” Smith-Njigba said. They had earned the right to boast at that point and appeared on their way to sweeping Seattle, five weeks after a 21-19 victory in Los Angeles.
Matthew Stafford (457 yards, three touchdowns) was dealing all night. Puka Nacua (12 catches, 225 yards, two touchdowns) looked unstoppable at times. They forced Seattle into multiple mistakes. Kam Curl knocked the ball away from Cooper Kupp in the red zone before the first half ended. Josh Wallace picked off Darnold in the third quarter to set up a 1-yard Blake Corum touchdown run. Kobie Turner picked off Darnold on the L.A. goal line in the fourth quarter.
“It wasn’t pretty by any means,” Darnold said. “The turnovers, I gotta cut down. That’s unacceptable.”
Sam Darnold, left, recovered from two interceptions to lead the Seahawks’ winning drive in overtime. (Steven Bisig / Imagn Images)
Seattle defenders were dropping like flies. First Coby Bryant (knee), then Riq Woolen (knee) and finally Nick Emmanwori (checked for concussion, but cleared). The Rams were having success on the ground and hitting explosive plays through the air.
For the second time in three weeks, Seattle needed a spark, and Shaheed delivered. After the first of three consecutive three-and-outs forced by Seattle’s defense, Shaheed took a punt 58 yards to the house. A stadium that was as quiet as a funeral after Turner’s interception quickly turned into a 68,853-person mosh pit.
“It turned the whole game around,” Smith-Njigba said. “Big-time player in a big moment, making a big play. We’re lucky to have Shaheed.”
The Rams kept punting. The Seahawks kept believing.
They had a combination of good execution and good fortune in the final minutes. Darnold’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Barner that cut the deficit to 30-28 was a throwback to a successful play call against the Jaguars in Week 6. The ensuing 2-point conversion was a botched screen pass that went backwards, bounced into the end zone and was recovered by Zach Charbonnet, despite appearing to almost everyone to be an incomplete pass. After a lengthy review, it was ruled a conversion. Tie game.
“It’s never over,” Jones said of Seattle’s comeback.
Late in regulation and in overtime, a defense that had been dominant all season was once again lit up by Stafford. He authored a 51-yard drive that ended with a missed field goal with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter, then opened overtime by tossing a 41-yard touchdown to Nacua to cap an 80-yard drive. The unit has had the offense’s back most of the season, but on this night, it needed a pick-me-up from Darnold.
There he was on the sideline, tossing passes back and forth, like always.
Smith-Njigba said it’s “very important” for Darnold to conduct himself the same way regardless of the ebbs and flows of the game. “That’s a testament to what he’s been through, ups and downs in his career. But you’ve got to keep pushing, keep fighting. That shows who you really are.”
Who is Sam Darnold? He’s the guy who, at least for now, silenced critics claiming he can’t deliver in a big game.
Darnold is not one to lean into those narratives. And these Seahawks don’t play the “nobody believes in us” card that teams often use as motivation. But perception is reality, and the truth is Darnold stepped on a narrative before a national audience.
“He showed why he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Seattle receiver Cody White said.
Much was made of this game’s magnitude. And there were many doubts regarding Darnold’s ability to deliver. The Rams, it seemed, had his number. But it was Darnold who had the final say in the end. And the Seahawks are the ones laughing as they sit atop the NFC.