SEATTLE (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for three touchdowns, the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense came up with a crucial fourth-down stop and Seattle advanced to the Super Bowl, beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in a thrilling NFC championship game on Sunday.
Led by second-year coach Mike Macdonald and Darnold – an eight-year veteran playing for his fifth team – the Seahawks (16-3) reached the fourth Super Bowl in franchise history and the first in 11 years. Seattle lost that most recent outing to New England, its opponent in two weeks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
With Los Angeles (14-6) facing fourth-and-4 in the Seattle 6, coach Sean McVay opted to go for it and Matthew Stafford’s pass was broken up in the end zone by Devon Witherspoon. The Rams didn’t get the ball back until there were 25 seconds left, and Puka Nacua was tackled near midfield on the final play.
Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, but the Rams were undone by critical mistakes, including a muffed punt by Xavier Smith in the third quarter. On the next play, Darnold connected with Jake Bobo for a 17-yard touchdown.
Darnold, who flopped his in play-off debut last season with the Minnesota Vikings, played by an oblique injury and completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards without a turnover. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 153 yards receiving and a touchdown on 10 catches.
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