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Brady Henderson
SEATTLE — Sam Darnold put it best when he stepped to the lectern inside Lumen Field late Thursday, as the celebration was winding down in the Seahawks’ locker room next door, and began his postgame remarks about a thrilling win that punched Seattle’s ticket to the playoffs.
Ā«That was crazy,Ā» the quarterback said.
You couldn’t blame Darnold for the hint of disbelief in his voice after the improbable comeback he helped Seattle pull off against the division rival Los Angeles Rams.
In a battle of 11-3 teams with first place in the NFC West on the line, the Seahawks fell behind by 16 points in the fourth quarter after two Darnold interceptions, putting the Rams on the doorstep of a season sweep that would have ended virtually any chance for Seattle to win the division.
But Darnold and the Seahawks stormed back, scoring two touchdowns to force overtime and another one in the extra period. They converted 2-point tries after all three scores, the last of which gave them a 38-37 win when Darnold hit tight end Eric Saubert in the back of the end zone, sending Lumen Field into a frenzy.
Minnesota Vikings by sacking him nine times in the wild-card round in January, then intercepted him four times in their 21-19 win over the Seahawks at So-Fi Stadium in November.
Darnold threw two interceptions in a span of three possessions in the second half, the first of which set up a Rams touchdown that put them up 23-14 in the third quarter. They led 30-14 midway through the fourth when they picked off Darnold for a second time.
But just when the game appeared as through it would turn into a blowout, Rashid Shaheed kick-started Seattle’s rally by returning a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. The Seahawks forced overtime with a 26-yard Darnold touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner. Darnold then answered Matthew Stafford’s touchdown drive in OT with one of his own, finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the end zone and then hitting Saubert for the winning 2-point try.
Indianapolis Colts.
On Thursday night, he finished 22-of-34 for 270 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver, caught eight passes for 96 yards and a TD.
The Seahawks got 100 rushing yards and a touchdown from Kenneth Walker III. He set up Zach Charbonnet’s scoring run in the first quarter with a 46-yard gain on a screen. Walker’s TD came on a 55-yard run in the third quarter, as Seattle’s struggling run game finally broke through on its way to 171 yards.
Charbonnet made a heads-up play on Seattle’s second 2-point attempt. Darnold tried to hit him on a quick screen, but his pass was deflected and initially ruled incomplete. Charbonnet grabbed the ball in the end zone just in case, and Seattle was awarded a successful try after officials reviewed the play and determined that Darnold’s pass went backward, meaning it was a fumble that Charbonnet recovered.
The Seahawks entered Week 16 allowing the second-fewest points of any defense. Macdonald’s unit held the Rams to 249 yards offense in the first meeting with the Rams before getting gashed Thursday night by Stafford. But despite losing three defensive backs in the fourth quarter — Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen — they buckled down to force overtime.
Macdonald said Bryant’s knee injury Ā«is not automatically season-ending,Ā» and that Emmanwori cleared concussion protocol. He had no word on the severity of Woolen’s knee injury.
Ā«I think for us there were a few miscommunication times where they were open deep in the back part of the field where we were just miscommunicating, wasn’t on the same page,Ā» linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. Ā«I think that shifted and we were able to get on the same page for those three three-and-outs.Ā»
Jones said unnamed Rams players were laughing at the Seahawks while leading by 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Darnold and the Seahawks got the last laugh.
Ā«This is a guy that we watch every day,Ā» Macdonald said. Ā«Same guy every day, no matter the circumstance. He’s an ultimate competitor. He’s a phenomenal leader. Just keeps fighting and keeps plugging away. We weren’t worried one bit. That’s Sam.Ā»
