Thursday Night Football: Seahawks take over NFC’s No. 1 seed with epic 38-37 OT victory over Rams

Entering Thursday night’s game, the Seahawks had never won when they trailed by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter of a game.

The Rams were ahead 30-14 with 13:34 left in regulation.

The Seahawks won 38-37 in overtime.

Seattle put together an epic comeback in the game’s final quarter and overtime to clinch a postseason berth and take over the NFC’s No. 1 seed with just two more games left on the schedule.

Everything was going Los Angeles’ way when Sam Darnold threw his second interception of the night in the fourth quarter, this time being picked off by defensive lineman Kobie Turner.

But after that, the Rams went three-and-out and Rashid Shaheed returned the punt 58 yards for a touchdown. Seattle got a successful two-point conversion on a Darnold pass to Cooper Kupp, making the score 30-22 with 8:03 left in the contest.

On the next drive, Shaheed had a 31-yard run to set up Darnold’s 26-yard touchdown pass to AJ Barner. That’s when one of the wildest two-point conversions to ever occur happened, as Darnold’s pass went backward and off the helmet of a Rams defender, before it was recovered in the end zone by Zach Charbonnet. The play was initially ruled incomplete until officials reviewed it and corrected the play, making it a tied ballgame at 30-30 with 6:23 left in regulation.

But from there, neither team could score for the rest of the fourth quarter. The Rams had a chance to put a field goal on the board with a 48-yard field goal attempt by Harrison Mevis with 2:11 on the clock, but the kick sailed wide right — continuing Los Angeles’ season-long special teams woes.

Seattle won the overtime coin toss and elected to kick, setting up the Rams for the first possession. Matthew Stafford made that count with a 41-yard touchdown to Puka Nacua, making the score 37-30 with 6:27 left in the contest.

But after a solid performance for much of the day, the Rams’ defense could not get a stop as Darnold marched Seattle down the field. The club faced just one first down on its overtime scoring drive, which Charbonnet converted with a 5-yard run on third-and-3 from the 9.

On the next play, Darnold hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 4-yard touchdown. With time running down, the Seahawks went for two and got it with Darnold’s pass to a wide-open Eric Saubert, completing a stunning comeback.

Darnold finished the contest 22-of-34 for 270 yard with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Smith-Njigba led with 96 yards on eight catches with a TD. He did not have a catch with just one target in the first half.

On the other side, Stafford was 29-of-49 for 457 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the first time he’d ever thrown for over 400 yards with the Rams, and is the third-most yards he’s thrown for in his career.

Nacua posted 12 receptions for 225 yards with two touchdowns, marking a new career-high in yards for him. Nacua also became just the second player in league history to register at least 150 yards receiving in three consecutive games — joining CeeDee Lamb from 2023.

But at the end of the day, the win mattered most. And that’s what the Seahawks have come away with to not only clinch a postseason berth, but also to now control their own outcome in the NFC West and the NFC as a whole.

The result is also good news for the 49ers, who could potentially take over the NFC’s top seed with a victory over Seattle in Week 18.

The Seahawks will finish their season with two road games, facing the Panthers next Sunday before facing the 49ers at the site of Super Bowl LX in Week 18.

For the Rams, they’ll have an extra day to stew over a crushing loss, as they’ll face the Falcons on Monday night in Week 17 before finishing the regular season at home against the Cardinals.