SEATTLE – The Rams (11-4) fell to the Seahawks 38-37 in overtime Thursday night at Lumen Field.
The loss moved Los Angeles from the No. 1 seed in the NFC to the No. 5 seed with the rest of Week 16’s schedule still to be played. Meanwhile, Seattle (12-3) moved into the top spot in the conference.
After the Rams were forced to punt near midfield with 53 seconds left, the Seahawks got the ball back with 42 seconds left at their own 15. However, with no timeouts left and after quarterback Sam Darnold was sacked on second down, the Seahawks let the remaining clock run to take the game to overtime, tied 30-30.
Seattle won the toss in overtime and elected to kick off to start the extra period. Although running back Ronnie Rivers returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Rams’ 48, the Rams’ return unit was called for holding, and they were forced to start the drive from their own 20 instead.
That opening drive of overtime nearly ended with Stafford getting picked off by Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones, but that interception was overturned upon further review by the officials and the Rams kept possession of the ball. On the next play, Stafford’s third-down completion to Nacua kept the drive alive. Two plays later, the Rams regained the lead 37-30 as quarterback Matthew Stafford fired a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Puka Nacua.
On the ensuing possession, Seattle answered with a four-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, then Darnold completing the game-winning 2-point attempt to tight end Eric Saubert to clinch the win for Seattle.
Stafford finished the game 29 for 49 passing for 457 yards and three touchdowns in the loss, while Nacua finished with 12 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams played without their top redzone target in wide receiver Davante Adams, who was inactive due to the re-aggravated hamstring injury he sustained in Week 15.
Rams offensive lineman Kevin Dotson sustained an ankle injury late in the first quarter and was questionable to return before being ruled out in the second half. He was replaced at right guard by Justin Dedich.
Here is the complete game recap, presented by Porsche:
The Rams went for it on 4th and 1 twice on the opening drive; the second attempt failed at the Seahawks 39 after virtual measurement ruled them short of the line to gain.
On the ensuing drive, the Seahawks quickly reached Rams territory after running back Kenneth Walker III took a screen pass 46 yards to the Rams’ 5. Two plays later, running back Zach Charbonnet’s four-yard touchdown run gave them a 7-0 lead with 7:09 left in the first quarter.
Aided by an impressive catch by Nacua on 4th and 5 and a 27-yard catch by tight end Davis Allen, the Rams made it all the way to the Seahawks 1-yard line, but had a 1-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to tight end Terrance Ferguson negated by an ineligible player downfield penalty against them. As a result, Los Angeles settled for a 23-yard field goal by Mevis to cut its deficit to four with 1:43 left in the first quarter.
After a big third-down pass breakup by cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. forced Seattle to punt on the next series, L.A. appeared set to go for it on 4th and 2 from the Seahawks 5, before taking a delay of game. Mevis’ ensuing 28-yard field goal cut the Rams’ deficit to one early in the second quarter. Stafford just missed Nacua on a deep touchdown pass on the drive.
Another big third down stop by the Rams’ defense – keyed by a Nate Landman sack on second down and a first down false start against the Seahawks – led to a punt which wide receiver Xavier Smith returned 31 yards from the Rams’ 7 to their 38. From there, Stafford led a surgical drive that, mixed with an efficient run game, was capped by a three-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Ferguson to give Los Angeles its first lead 13-7 with 3:43 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive, the Rams defense surrendered a 17-yard carry by Walker on 3rd and 16, but cornerback Cobie Durant recovered forced fumble by safety Kam Curl on Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and the touchback off that takeaway gave the Rams the ball at their own 20 with 43 seconds left in the first half. However, the Rams couldn’t get any points off the drive, taking the remaining time into the half for a 13-7 halftime lead.
The Seahawks regained the lead 14-13 on a 55-yard touchdown run by Walker on the opening drive of the second half.
A 48-yard completion from Stafford to Smith quickly put Los Angeles into Seattle territory on the ensuing possession, but they were forced to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Mevis at the end of it, regaining L.A. the lead 16-14 with 8:37 left in the third quarter.
On the following drive, cornerback Josh Wallace intercepted Darnold’s pass intended for wide receiver Rashid Shaheed and returned it 56 yards to the Seahawks 1-yard line. Corum punched it in from that distance to give the Rams a 23-14 lead with 6:30 left in the third quarter.
After another defensive stop, the offense authored another complementary drive, as Stafford’s one-yard touchdown pass to Nacua on the next possession extended the Rams’ lead to 30-14 early in the fourth quarter. That drive was keyed by a 54-yard completion from Stafford to Nacua.
The Seahawks reached the Rams’ 6-yard line before Darnold was picked off a second time, this time Turner coming up with the interception for his first of his career. However, the Rams offense couldn’t come away with points after the takeaway.
Seattle’s Shaheed returned that ensuing punt 58 yards for a touchdown to cut L.A.’s lead eight; the Seahawks’ ensuing two-point attempt succeeded on a completion from Darnold to Kupp.
The Rams were forced to punt a second-consecutive drive, and the Seahawks got the ball off that ensuing punt at their own 43. Seattle capitalized with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to tight end A.J. Barner. The ensuing two-point attempted initially appeared to fail after an incomplete Darnold pass, until officials upon further review ruled that Darnold threw a backward pass, one that became a live ball after it deflected off a Rams defender and was recovered in the endzone by Charbonnet, tying the game 30-30 with 6:23 left.
L.A.’s offense stalled out and it was forced to punt again on the ensuing drive, giving Seattle the ball back with 4:47 remaining. However, L.A.’s defense forced a 3-and-out of its own, giving the ball back to the offense with 3:19 left.
Facing 3rd and 4 from their own 26 on that drive, Stafford fired a 28-yard completion to Ferguson to keep the drive alive. The 15 yards gained because of an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Seahawks at the Seahawks 31. However, after Stafford’s incomplete pass on third down, kicker Harrison Mevis’ 48-yard field goal attempt missed wide right, giving Seattle the ball back at its own 38 with 2:07 remaining. It was Mevis’ first miss as a Ram.
On the ensuing drive, Turner and outside linebacker Jared Verse split a sack that took down Darnold for a nine-yard loss on 2nd and 8. Darnold threw an incomplete pas on 3rd and 17, which forced them to punt and gave the Rams another chance to win the game. However, their drive stalled near midfield, and they were forced to punt with 53 seconds left.
The Seahawks got the ball back with 42 seconds left but no timeouts, and after Darnold was sacked on second down by Rams nose tackle Poona Ford, the Seahawks let the remaining clock run out to take the game to overtime.
The Rams went ahead 37-30 on Stafford’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Nacua, then the Seahawks answered with a four-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Smith-Njigba. Saubert’s catch secured the game-winning two-point conversion.
