Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl! Winners and Losers from another epic over the Rams

The Seattle Seahawks had to slay the NFC West beast not once, but twice… twice.

They had to beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16 to take control of the NFC West, which they somehow did. Two weeks later, the Seahawks had to overcome the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 1 seed on the line in Week 18 and did it. Mission accomplished. Naturally, the NFC bracket broke in such a way that Seattle had to rematch both of these teams in order to reach the Super Bowl. If you want to dismiss the 49ers as severely injured and fortunate to have made it this far, then fine. The Rams were Super Bowl favorites almost all season and about as healthy as could be.

Checkmark, checkmark, NFC title secured, Super Bowl berth clinched. Maybe this was destiny for Seattle to do it this way.

Let’s get to Winners and Losers from the Seahawks’ thrilling 31-27 win over the Rams at Lumen Field.

Seattle Seahawks Winners

Sam Darnold does some ghost-busting

As I’ve already written about this evening, Darnold was almost faultless, and this was a rare night in which he had to shoulder more of the load than normal. The Seahawks defense got shredded on early downs and the running game mostly disappeared after the first quarter. Darnold had to be at his best in order for the Seahawks to win, and that’s exactly what happened.

With all due respect to DeMarcus Lawrence, who’s been touted as one of John Schneider’s best free-agent pickups, I think Darnold gets the nod given the decision to trade Geno Smith. He’s a bargain relative to the top starters in the league and he just played like an elite, franchise quarterback.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba dominates again

By halftime, the possible Offensive Player of the Year had 7 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. He finished the night with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, continuing his astonishing breakout year as a top-flight wide receiver.

Rashid Shaheed finally breaks one as a receiver

It was Shaheed’s only catch, but it set the tone for a night of explosive Seahawks passing offense. If you recall in the first meeting, Shaheed was open for a touchdown but Darnold’s pass was a little undercooked and knocked away by Emmanuel Forbes. Shaheed was open behind Darious Williams on the first drive and Darnold put it on him for 51 yards.

Cooper Kupp haunts his former team

It was a quiet first half for Kupp, then he woke up in the second half. Kupp had four catches for 36 yards and what is technically the winning touchdown in the third quarter. His first Lumen Field touchdown in a Seahawks uniform was vital, and three of his catches were for first downs or touchdowns. I joked (badly) that I didn’t want to see Kupp sporting a Mariners uniform with a championship berth at stake, but clearly that was overridden by the fact that said uniform was Ken Griffey Jr.

Kenneth Walker III sets an early tone, comes through as a receiver

K9’s day getting a somewhat increased workload as a running back started strongly but faded due to blocking struggles. No one will laud 19 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown as astonishing, but Walker was making Rams defenders miss in the hole and powering through tacklers for some hard-earned yards. It’s what Walker did as a receiver that should excite everyone; four catches for 49 yards technically made him Seattle’s second-leading receiver on the night.

JAKE BOBO?!

What, again?! Bobo was getting late-season healthy scratches and not even on the field for passing downs for much of the season. Suddenly he has a big third-down catch in the NFC Divisional Round, and a filthy touchdown on his only catch in the NFC Championship Game. Maybe #MoreBobo was just being saved strategically.

Dareke Young seizes the opportunity on the second occasion

Young could’ve had a turnover early in the first half when Xavier Smith muffed a punt but Dareke moved to the side, presumably to avoid fair catch interference. He didn’t make that decision the second time Smith dropped the ball, and Young’s takeaway was cashed in for a touchdown on the next snap. Another hallmark of Seattle’s superb special teams.

Michael Dickson was outstanding

Five punts for Dickson, five punts inside the 20, two of which were muffed. Even the punt at the end of the game that forced Kyren Williams into a fair catch at his 7 was huge, as 93 yards in 25 seconds with no timeouts is almost impossible to pull off. The All-Pro punter was on his game.

Devon Witherspoon salvages a nightmare night with clutch plays

Through three quarters, I had never seen Witherspoon get bossed like that by wide receivers so thoroughly. He couldn’t keep his footing, he was getting pushed around by Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, and it looks like his size disadvantage would prove to be a liability. Then the fourth quarter happened and he had two end zone pass break-ups on the game-deciding drive, plus the tackle on Puka Nacua on the final play to keep him in bounds and run the clock out.

That’s the hallmark of a resilient, winning football player. Devon Witherspoon climbed into the Winners column for stepping up on the two biggest drives of his life.

Nick Emmanwori was the best player on the Seahawks defense

Bar none. Not even close. Five tackles, three TFLs, three PBUs, and maybe the game-shifting sequence before halftime when he broke up a pair of Stafford throws to force the Rams to give the ball back to the Seahawks. Instead of preserving a 13-10 halftime lead or maybe going up 16 or 20-10, the Seahawks had the 17-13 advantage going into the break. All of that started with this electrifying rookie out of South Carolina.

Klint Kubiak cooked Chris Shula

Could we be looking at two future NFL head coaches this offseason? Well, Shula can get going on whatever interviews he may have, but Kubiak is here to stay for at least another game. Kubiak had Shula’s defense in a blender, and for a group that loves to disguise coverages, their coverages got undressed by a Kubiak masterpiece. The deep shots came back, the screens put their slow linebackers in space, and Shula struggled for answers all night.

I also commend Kubiak for staying aggressive on Seattle’s final drive, which drained most of the remaining clock away. Seattle threw the ball repeatedly and found consistent success even at the risk of stopping the clock or turning it over.

John Schneider, you’ve done something legendary

I’ll let this speak for itself.

Midseason last year I said if Schneider didn’t figure out the offensive line, then it would be time to move on. His contract extension after the season ended made that moot, but I was certainly not totally satisfied with Schneider’s moves in critical areas. The 2025 offseason tips the scales in his favor, perhaps forever.

Take a bow, John. His reputation is etched in stone in the history of Seattle sports.

Mike Macdonald is the one

It took only two seasons for Macdonald to turn the Seahawks from a mediocre squad treading water into a complete juggernaut capable of reaching the Super Bowl. He experienced Conference Championship heartbreak as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator just two seasons ago, which fortunately may have been what propelled him into the Seattle job. If I pretend Jim Mora never existed or existed for the sole purpose of Pete Carroll’s hiring, the Seahawks have gone from Mike Holmgren to Pete Carroll to Mike Macdonald over the span of a quarter-century. All of them have made a Super Bowl, and now Macdonald can join Pete in Seahawks history.

Jody Allen’s big decision paid off

It probably shouldn’t be lost on NFL observers that the Seahawks and Patriots moved on from their legendary head coaches (both of whom had front office control) at the same time. New England was in much more dire straits than the Seahawks, but the basis was the same: past success doesn’t get you an eternal line of credit. The decision to move on from Carroll was the right one, and by far the biggest one made since Jody became de facto owner after her brother Paul’s passing. She kept John Schneider, who’s delivered a new contender if not an eventual Super Bowl winner. The roster has been set up for short- and long-term success and the Seahawks are thriving after some less-than-stellar seasons that certainly brought up questions of ownership involvement (or lack thereof).

Jody is involved, but she’s not Jerry Jones levels of involvement. Seattle has had stable ownership for decades and long may that continue.

The 12s for their money’s worth

One of the goals this season was for the Seahawks to be much, much better at home than we’ve seen lately. They lost their home opener to the 49ers and that sense of dread returned. Seattle finished their Lumen Field schedule with an 8-2 record, the best mark by win percentage since 2016. I’d say that mojo is back, and the crowd was rocking like the good old times.

Seattle Seahawks Losers

Disappointing day for the defensive line

Matthew Stafford was seldom pressured, and he had too many clean pockets to work with. DeMarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Uchenna Nwosu had the only QB hits, and Lawrence had the only sack (which probably shouldn’t have counted). It was nevertheless a non-existent showing for Boye Mafe and Derick Hall. The only thing I can vouch for is that the Patriots offensive line is much worse than the Rams, but this is where not having a standout edge rusher hurts a defense even as great as Seattle’s. It also wasn’t a banner day for the run defense, which only “improved” in the second half because the Rams had no need to run due to chunk plays galore through the air. Hey, they still won.

Seahawks corners get shredded in man coverage

It was as much man coverage as we’ve seen the Seahawks ever run under Coach Macdonald. It did not go well. Everyone from Spoon to Josh Jobe to Riq Woolen got worked to some degree. Sometimes you just tip your cap to superior QB/WR play, other times it’s just the cornerback room having an uncharacteristically off day.

Riq Woolen almost turns into a villain

I don’t like taunting penalties on principle. They’re lame in a league filled with grown adults and generally should be reserved for something extremely unsportsmanlike. Riq Woolen almost cost Seattle the game with that taunting penalty on a 3rd and 12 stop. I would’ve not been as mad if he hadn’t dropped the interception, but he followed that up by getting toasted for a touchdown by Puka Nacua. That’s the third time Riq has picked up a taunting flag, and this one could’ve been the most costly penalty in franchise history. Seattle could’ve had the ball back to go up 38-20 and instead it was 31-27 in the blink of an eye. No more of that, Riq! Please!

Final Notes

• Shout out to George Holani for his three catches for 27 yards. He didn’t do much on the ground but he filled in nicely as a receiving outlet.
• I don’t want to put him in the Losers column, but that felt like Anthony Bradford’s worst pass protection game in a minute. The offensive line was still a net positive so I’m not too upset, especially considering how efficiently Seattle moved the ball.
• Isn’t it awesome for veterans like Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence to reach the Super Bowl after frustratingly either missing the playoffs or exiting early in the postseason? And lest we forget Quandre Diggs is on the practice squad and he did have a few special teams snaps in December. I’m happy for all of them to experience this moment.
• Sean McVay not going for two on either touchdown in the third quarter felt short-sighted, and it may have bitten him in the ass when they had to go for it on 4th down on their penultimate drive instead of kick a trying field goal. It’s never too early to “chase points” in the second half. I’m thankful he screwed that up.
• Seattle is in the freaking Super Bowl again. They’ve made the Super Bowl every decade this century after routinely missing the playoffs for their first 25 years of existence. Enjoy it, relish it, we’ve got two weeks to go before a highly anticipated score to settle with the New England Patriots.
• Thank you to everyone who’s read Field Gulls throughout the year and to our new readers who may have stumbled upon us and/or signed up for an account this season. Big things are coming with our first Super Bowl to cover in 11 years.