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Summary:
- The Seahawks defeated the Rams 31-27, earning the coveted Super Bowl comeback.
- Sam Darnold threw three touchdowns and played mistake-free football despite an oblique injury, leading Seattle’s defense.
- The Seahawks reached their first Super Bowl in 11 years and will face New England in Santa Clara.
Victory for the Seattle Seahawks: Mike Macdonald’s team is finally heading back to the Super Bowl after a long decade of waiting, but it took a wild 2025 NFC championship game that swung back and forth until the very last whistle to get there.
Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes, the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense delivered its biggest play when it mattered most, and Seattle held off the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 on Sunday.
Under second-year coach Mike Macdonald, Seattle finished 16-3 and punched its ticket to the fourth Super Bowl in team history.
The Seahawks will face New England in two weeks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, a familiar opponent after losing to the Patriots in their last Super Bowl appearance 11 years ago.
The defining moment came deep in Seattle territory late in the fourth quarter. Trailing by four, the Rams drove to the Seahawks’ 6-yard line and faced fourth-and-4. Sean McVay kept his offense on the field, trusting Matthew Stafford to deliver.
Instead, Stafford’s pass toward the end zone was knocked away by Devon Witherspoon, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Los Angeles did not touch the ball again until there were only 25 seconds left, and the season ended when Puka Nacua was tackled inbounds near midfield.
Big plays, big moments. @DevonWitherspo1 pic.twitter.com/BgtnCl3umx
— xz* – Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 26, 2026
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Costly Mistakes for the Rams
Stafford put up massive numbers, throwing for 374 yards and three touchdowns, but the Rams could not overcome a handful of costly mistakes.
The most damaging came in the third quarter, when Xavier Smith muffed a punt. Seattle wasted no time taking advantage. On the very next snap, Darnold found Jake Bobo for a 17-yard touchdown that flipped momentum and put real pressure on Los Angeles.
Darnold’s performance was a sharp contrast to his playoff struggles a year ago in Minnesota. Playing through an oblique injury, the eight-year veteran was calm and efficient, completing 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards without a turnover. It was the kind of game that explains why Macdonald trusted him to lead a contender, even as he suited up for his fifth NFL team.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was Darnold’s go-to target, finishing with 153 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches. Time and again, he found space against the Rams’ secondary and kept Seattle’s offense on schedule.
