Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes and the Seattle Seahawks' defence produced a crucial fourth-down stop as they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in an electrifying NFC Championship game on Sunday. The victory sends Seattle to their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history, and their first in 11 years, where they will face the New England Patriots in a rematch of their most recent Super Bowl loss.
Darnold, playing through an oblique injury, completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards without a turnover. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 10 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks led 31-20 late in the third quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Cooper Kupp, but the Rams rallied when a taunting penalty on cornerback Riq Woolen kept a drive alive, leading to a 34-yard touchdown from Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua.
The Rams forced a punt and drove 84 yards in 14 plays, but faced fourth-and-four at the Seattle six-yard line. Coach Sean McVay elected to go for it, but Stafford's pass was broken up in the end zone by Devon Witherspoon. The Rams got the ball back with 25 seconds left, but Nacua was tackled inbounds near midfield on the final play.
Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, but the Rams were undone by critical errors, including a muffed punt by Xavier Smith in the third quarter. On the next play, Darnold hit Jake Bobo for a 17-yard touchdown. Davante Adams and Kyren Williams had receiving touchdowns for the Rams, while Kenneth Walker III scored a rushing touchdown for Seattle.
Seattle, led by second-year coach Mike Macdonald and veteran quarterback Darnold – on his fifth team – will face the Patriots at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in two weeks.
