The Los Angeles Rams lost to the Seattle Seahawks by a final score of 31-27 in the NFC Championship. This was billed to be a battle between two of titans of NFL, and the game delivered. Look, the Rams had a great year and they should be proud to get this point, but it’s going to sting to fall short of getting to the Super Bowl.
There’s no way around that.
Now, did the Rams show up today? Yes, they gave it their all, but Seattle did enough to win.
Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold looked the part of a franchise
quarterback while, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua both looked like Offensive Players of the Year, and both teams had defenses that were hitting hard and chasing the ball.
It was a slugfest between the two NFC West opponents, and a huge difference was that L.A. seemed to struggle throughout the day on third down, while Seattle’s offense converted on more than one third and long. That difference was key.
Another key to the game was a costly fumble on special teams by the Rams, it led to Seattle points.
Seattle struck first with a rushing score by Kenneth Walker as the Rams struggled to do better than put up a couple field goals. As the Seahawks were leading 10-6, the Rams finally put together their best drive as Matthew Stafford hit Kyren Williams to take a 13-10 lead.
The Rams had a chance to score before halftime, but instead they punted back to Seattle as they took advantage and took a 17-13 lead at the half.
Out of the half, L.A.’s defense went to work and forced a punt, only to then have Xavier Smith fumble the ball on the return to give Seattle an immediate short field. The Seahawks would go on to score another touchdown to take a 24-13 lead.
The Rams kept themselves alive as Stafford connected to Davantae Adams for a score to make the game 24-20, but Seattle was able to score again to reestablish control with a 31-20 lead.
On L.A.’s next offensive drive, Seattle had stopped the Rams and forced a fourth and long, but when Seattle was called for a taunting penalty, it gave some new life to the Rams who took advantage with a Puka Nacua touchdown to make the game 31-27.
These teams were putting on a show.
Then, the Rams defense was able to force the ball back once again to the Rams, and L.A. drove down the field and almost notched a go-ahead touchdown, but Seattle’s defense held strong on a fourth down as Seattle had the ball back and a chance to run out the clock and win.
Seattle did eventually punt the ball back to L.A., but with 20-seconds left, there wasn’t enough time for Stafford to work his comeback magic.
L.A. fell short one game of the Super Bowl, making it further than last year, but losing hurts, and now they have a whole offseason to reflect on what almost was.
Sean McVay and everyone top to bottom should be proud of how far they got, but it’s alright to have wanted more too. Well, there’s always next year.
