NFC Championship: Seahawks

NFC championship: Seahawks ride late 4th-down stop, career game from Sam Darnold past Rams into Super Bowl

The Seattle Seahawks nearly faced disaster on Sunday when a late taunting penalty gave the Los Angeles Rams a chance to rally.

However, the Seahawks managed to overcome the mistake to secure a 31-27 victory in the NFC championship. This win concluded an exciting series between the NFC West rivals, with the Rams and Seahawks having split their regular-season meetings.

This time, the conference title was on the line, and the Seahawks move on to play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. They owe their success to an outstanding performance by quarterback Sam Darnold on the biggest stage of his career and a crucial fourth-down stop.

As in their regular-season clashes, Sunday’s game was a back-and-forth battle that wasn’t decided until the end. The Rams closed a 31-20 gap, fueled by a taunting penalty on the Seahawks, and had a chance to take the lead with 4:49 left.

But Seattle’s top-rated scoring defense delivered its most critical stop of the season on fourth down. Matthew Stafford aimed for tight end Terrance Ferguson over the middle in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-4, but cornerback Devon Witherspoon broke up the pass, preserving Seattle’s 31-27 advantage.

After that, the Seahawks drained all but 25 seconds from the clock before punting the ball back to the Rams, deep in Los Angeles territory. With no timeouts remaining, the Rams couldn’t achieve a miraculous comeback.

Darnold, often questioned about his performance in crucial games, silenced his critics with the best game of his career. He completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns. Unlike in previous high-profile failures, he did not turn the ball over.