Sometimes the better team does not win. Make no mistake, the Los Angeles Rams were the better team heading into last night’s NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks despite being 2.5 point underdogs. I do not take away anything from the Seattle Seahawks this season. A lot of the storyline going into this game was the Rams #1 offense vs. Seattle’s #1 defense. Well, the Rams offense was largely superior to the Seahawks defense. They were better. But it was the special teams that killed the Rams yet again. I guess you could argue that because of the Rams special teams, they were not the better team. However, even despite that costly turnover, the Seahawks had to play nearly perfect on offense with Sam Darnold. And they did (again credit to them). But one night does not encapsulate who I think was the better team this season.
Rant over.
The Los Angeles Rams know that self inflicted errors cost them a chance at playing in Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots. Missed opportunities, missed tackles, special teams, and game management all had an impact in their 31-27 loss. Here are the plays that I think defined the game:
1a. Rams offensive series and defensive series under 2 minutes in 1st half, (Rams 13 – Seahawks 10), 1:33 left in 2nd Quarter
After forcing a three & out to get the ball back before halftime, the Rams had a great opportunity to go into halftime with the lead and even a chance to add onto their lead. However, they COMPLETELY screwed themselves when they gave the ball back to Seattle with over a minute remaining and Seattle still having all three of their timeouts. Here is what transpired on offense:
The Rams made a huge mistake not running the ball on 2nd down. It would have forced the Seahawks to either call a timeout or let the clock continue the run. Even if it was 3rd & 5 after a 0 yard run, and Seattle had called a timeout, the Rams would have been able to game plan whether they wanted to run again on 3rd down and force another timeout or push the envelope and pass. Instead, the Rams passed on 2nd down and then called a timeout of their own. Furthermore, a management issue was that Ronnie Rivers was the 3rd down target. Ronnie Rivers, RB3, should have never been on the field in that situation.
Then after going back on defense, the Rams allowed the Seahawks to go 74 yards on 6 plays in just 34 seconds. Absolutely killer for 2nd half momentum.
1b. Rams secondary drops interception, (Rams 13 – Seahawks 10), 0:49 left in 2nd Quarter
Sam Darnold was not perfect in this game. He actually did make an errant throw. Unfortunately, the Rams did not make him pay like they did in Weeks 11 and 16. Jaylen McCollough deflected a pass intended for Cooper Kupp but there was another Rams DB waiting for the errant throw. Had McCollough not tipped it, the Rams would have had the interception and probably run the ball deep into Seattle territory.
2. Xavier Smith muffed punt, (Rams 13 – Seahawks 17), 12:17 left in the 3rd Quarter
It was shades of 2017 in the wild card round against Atlanta. On a prior punt, Xavier Smith showed nerves fielding a punt. In the 3rd quarter, he muffed a Dickinson punt; giving the ball back to the Seahawks in the redzone. It was probably the biggest swing in the game as the Seahawks were able to expand their lead to two scores and the Rams constantly were playing catch up and trying to create a stop on defense.
3. Rams can’t finish drive with touchdown; missing on 3rd and 4th down, (Rams 27 – Seahawks 31), 5:06 left in the 4th Quarter
The offense did everything right on the drive. They went 84 yards on 12 plays. Sean McVay’s offense was wokring Mike Macdonald’s defense. But on 3rd down and 4th down, the Rams could not get the last 6 yards they needed to take the lead. On 3rd down, Matthew Stafford tried to target Konata Mumpfield but was denied. Then on 4th down, his pass to Terrance Ferguson was broken up by Devon Witherspoon.
4. Cooper Kupp picks up questionable first down, (Rams 27 – Seahawks 31), 3:20 left in the 4th Quarter
The Rams defense got into the 3rd down they needed but they could never come up with the big play on 3rd down consistently to get off the field. Kupp’s catch gave the Seahawks a brand new set of downs and allowed them to drain another 3 minutes of game clock.
5. Cobie Durant called for holding, (Rams 27 – Seahawks 31), 2:17 left in the 4th Quarter
If there is one penalty that is worth complaining about, it’s this one. The refs missed a lot of calls in the game. A no-call defensive pass interference on Quentin Lake went in favor of the Rams. But the Rams were on the short end of the stick with the majority of plays. Davante Adams was held by a defensive back by his hair, Tariq Woolen pulled Puka Nacua by the neck to deflect a pass, Matthew Stafford had his facemask pulled on a sack, and then this call on Cobie Durant with the game on the line… I’m not disputing that there is contact by Durant. But Kupp was not the target on the play and this was near identical contact by Durant as was by Nick Emmanwori on a play to Davante Adams (who was the intended target).
See the :27 mark on the Nick Emmanwori video. A clear pull on Davante Adams out of the break. No different than Cooper Kupp.
There you have it. The Rams 2025 season is over. And they must move on to 2026…
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