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With a trip to Super Bowl LX on the line, the third meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams was another exciting shootout in the Northwest.
But like that overtime game last time between these NFC West foes, the Seahawks defended home court advantage.
The Seahawks are headed to Santa Clara to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX after their 31-27 win over the Rams on Sunday night.
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Kenneth Walker III celebrates with AJ Barner of the Seattle Seahawks after Walker III scores a first quarter touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game at Lumen Field on January 25, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
It was an onslaught of onslaughts in this contest, with 28 points in the third quarter combined, highlighting what should be an exciting fourth quarter.
The biggest moment in this back-and-forth game came on the 14th play of the Rams’ first drive of the quarter, when head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford decided to go for it at Seattle’s six-yard line on fourth-and-4.
A touchdown would have given the Rams the lead, and Stafford didn’t look like he wanted to come off the field down four points with 4:54 left in the game.
When he dropped back, Stafford probed the end zone and tried to get a pass to Terrence Ferguson, but Devon Witherspoon had blanket coverage and turned the ball over on downs.
It was a massive stop for a Seattle defense that had an 11-point lead until a crucial mistake by Riq Woolen, who was called for a taunting penalty on the previous Rams drive after a third-and-12 stop. The 15-yard penalty allowed Stafford and company to stay on the field, and he made Woolen pay with a touchdown pass to Puka Nacua to make it a 31-27 game.
But Sam Darnold, who played tremendously throughout this contest, knew the game was in his hands. A few first downs, and bleeding the Rams’ remaining timeouts, would seal a job well done and the NFC title.
One big play came from Darnold when he found veteran receiver Cooper Kupp on third-and-4, and Kupp stretched to just pick up the first down to keep the drive alive. The call looked like one McVay could have challenged, but since he would have lost a timeout, he pocketed the red flag instead of taking the bet.
Maybe it could have led to an overturned first-down call, but hindsight is 20/20 when running back Kenneth Walker III and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba did what was necessary to ice this game.
Stafford got a miracle chance with 25 seconds left to play, but with no timeouts, the Rams hung their heads as the Seahawks celebrated their return to the Big Game.
This is a development story. More to come.
