Sam Darnold has a “crazy” reaction to the Rams’ insane comeback

The The Seattle Seahawks completed one of the most incredible comebacks in franchise historyrallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Los Angeles Rams 38-37 in overtime on Thursday Night Football at Lumen Field. The win not only moved the Seahawks to 12-3, but also guaranteed a playoff spot and pushed Seattle into first place in the NFC Westgiving them the No. 1 seed with two games remaining.

Seahawks quarterback Darnold got off to a shaky start with a pair of interceptions, but ended up completing 64.7% of his passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns.

“That was crazy… I don’t think we played our best football, I didn’t, but at the end of the day we won,” Darnold admitted after the game (h/t ESPN’s Lindsay Thiry).

The Rams entered the matchup at 11-3, tied with Seattle, and boasting one of the most dangerous offenses in the league. Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 29 of 49 passes for 457 yards and three touchdowns, posting a 110.7 passer rating. Wide receiver Puck Natsu had 12 catches for 225 yards and two scores. The Rams looked unstoppable, but the Seahawks made a furious comeback thanks to late-game heroics and strategic risk-taking.

Seattle’s early scoring came on Zach Charbonnet’s 4-yard touchdown run, which set up a 46-yard screen pass to Kenneth Walker III. Walker finished with 11 catches for 100 yards and added 64 receiving yards on three catches, including a 55-yard run in the third quarter that gave Seattle a 21-20 lead. However, turnovers hurt Darnold early. A second interception by the Seahawks quarterback, inside the Los Angeles 10-yard line, and a Cooper Kupp fumble left Seattle down 30-14 with just over eight minutes left in the game. At that point, Seattle was 0-172 all-time when trailing by 15 or more points in the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks’ comeback began with Rasheed Shahid’s 58-yard touchdown return, followed by a successful two-point conversion to cut the deficit to eight. After a defensive stop, Darnold connected with AJ Barner for a 26-yard touchdown, and the controversial two-point attempt — a reverse pass that was recovered by Zach Charbonnet in the end zone — tied the game at 30-30. A missed 48-yard field goal by Los Angeles’ Harrison Mavis sent the game into overtime.

In overtime, Stafford and Nakuah scored first for touchdowns, but Darnold led Seattle down the stretch, finding Jackson Smith-Njigba for a touchdown. Instead of settling for the extra point, Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald opted for the two-point conversion, and Darnold found Eric Saubert, who hadn’t caught a pass all game, for the game-winning score.

The win was Seattle’s fifth in a row. Smith-Njigba finished with eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, surpassing the franchise single-season record for receptions with 104, previously held by Tyler Lockett.

With this win, the Seahawks now control their playoff destiny, holding an 11-4 NFC West lead over the Rams and the top seed in the conference. The Seahawks next face the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 before heading to Santa Clara for a pivotal Week 18 showdown with the San Francisco 49ers that could determine home field advantage for the postseason.