LOS ANGELES -- On Thursday, at Lumen Field, the Seattle Seahawks trailed the Los Angeles Rams by 16 points. The Seahawks had been lingering in the playoff hunt as a fifth seed, but they were seemingly resigned to a wildcard road path, looking for all the world like a team that had reached a plateau.
One chaotic fourth quarter later, Seattle fans can only marvel at the turnaround.
Since erasing that deficit, the Seahawks have catapulted to the No. 1 spot in the NFC race. They have overcome two Sam Darnold interceptions, survived a defensive shredding early in the contest, and now control their own destiny. Flush with momentum, they gambled on an overtime conversion and won.
Earlier in the evening, the Los Angeles Rams appeared to be an unstoppable force, an offense so potent that Matthew Stafford threw for nearly 500 yards and Puka Nacua amassed 225 receiving yards.
Within an hour, however, the Rams were walking off the field in shock. They managed to squander the game by allowing three straight three-and-outs, surrendering a special teams touchdown to Rasheed Shaheed, and, after failing to hold a substantial lead, falling to 10-6.
The reasons for this dramatic reversal of fortune are many:
- Both clubs demonstrated a stark contrast in critical decision-making. Coach Mike Macdonald chose to go for two in overtime to secure the final 38-37 margin. Sean McVay, conversely, saw his defense bait Darnold early only to fold when the pressure mounted.
- A confusing ruling tied the game at 30-30. Officials determined the Seahawks recovered a clear fumble on a conversion attempt—a call McVay acclaimed he had "never quite seen anything like."
"I've never quite seen anything like what happened on the two-point conversion, where you're lined up to kickoff, then they say it's a fumble because they had the clear and obvious recovery,” McVay said. “Now you tack it on, you make it a 30-30 game. Very interesting."
- While Darnold focused on being "relentless," the Rams faced distractions. Nacua’s pre-game livestream comments regarding referees created a minor controversy that, despite his statistical output, loomed over a team that ultimately lacked the discipline to close.