SEATTLE -- Sam Darnold put it best when he stepped to the lectern inside Lumen Field late Thursday, as the celebration was winding down in the Seahawks' locker room next door, and began his postgame remarks about a thrilling win that punched Seattle's ticket to the playoffs.
"That was crazy," the quarterback said.
You couldn't blame Darnold for the hint of disbelief in his voice after the improbable comeback he helped Seattle pull off against the division rival Los Angeles Rams.
In a battle of 11-3 teams with first place in the NFC West on the line, the Seahawks fell behind by 16 points in the fourth quarter after two Darnold interceptions, putting the Rams on the doorstep of a season sweep that would have ended virtually any chance for Seattle to win the division.
But Darnold and the Seahawks stormed back, scoring two touchdowns to force overtime and another one in the extra period. They converted 2-point tries after all three scores, the last of which gave them a 38-37 win when Darnold hit tight end Eric Saubert in the back of the end zone, sending Lumen Field into a frenzy.
The win gives the Seahawks a one-game lead in the NFC West standings with two to go, and it puts them in the driver's seat for the conference's No. 1 seed.
The Seahawks survived an uncharacteristically poor day by their defense, which allowed 581 yards and seven completions that gained at least 25.
"I didn't think we played our best football," Darnold said. "I certainly didn't play my best football. We've got a lot of work to do there, but at the end of the day, we won. That team in that locker room, all the guys in that locker room, we work so hard for moments like this. ... We're going to continue to push and get better, but those guys in the locker room deserve a win like that against a really good team."
The story was all but written Thursday night about how Los Angeles' defense continues to have Darnold's number. The Rams ended his Pro Bowl 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings by sacking him nine times in the wild-card round in January, then intercepted him four times in their 21-19 win over the Seahawks at So-Fi Stadium in November.
Darnold threw two interceptions in a span of three possessions in the second half, the first of which set up a Rams touchdown that put them up 23-14 in the third quarter. They led 30-14 midway through the fourth when they picked off Darnold for a second time.
But just when the game appeared as through it would turn into a blowout, Rashid Shaheed kick-started Seattle's rally by returning a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. The Seahawks forced overtime with a 26-yard Darnold touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner. Darnold then answered Matthew Stafford's touchdown drive in OT with one of his own, finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the end zone and then hitting Saubert for the winning 2-point try.
"Just shows a true competitor," Smith-Njigba said. "A lot of guys would get down on themselves and give up, lay down, but that's not what we do, that's not what he is. That goes around to the whole team. Excited to have a leader in Sam."
Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said the Seahawks had internal discussions earlier this week about potentially kicking a PAT in the situation they found themselves at the end of the game, knowing that a tie would be good enough to secure their playoff berth.
"But I just felt great about our play, and I trusted our guys," he said. "And to [offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's] credit, too, he was really confident. And then the players ultimately make it happen. Once we got that drive going, it was pretty clear on what we were going to do."
Darnold completed 4 of 5 attempts for 47 yards on the game-winning drive. On the 2-point try, Saubert was last in his progression.
"Sam is amazing," Saubert said. "He knows his progression all the way through. I had a chip, came under late. Sam found me. It was awesome."
Before this game, the Seahawks were 0-155-0 all time when trailing by 16-plus points in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Research.
"Relentless, resilient are some good words," Saubert said. "We've got a team full of guys that just fight, and it's so awesome going to [battle] with these guys every week. As you can see, no matter what the circumstances are, we just keep on pushing."
Darnold led a field goal drive in the final minute Sunday that gave the Seahawks an 18-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
On Thursday night, he finished 22-of-34 for 270 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Smith-Njigba, the NFL's leading receiver, caught eight passes for 96 yards and a TD.
The Seahawks got 100 rushing yards and a touchdown from Kenneth Walker III. He set up Zach Charbonnet's scoring run in the first quarter with a 46-yard gain on a screen. Walker's TD came on a 55-yard run in the third quarter, as Seattle's struggling run game finally broke through on its way to 171 yards.
Charbonnet made a heads-up play on Seattle's second 2-point attempt. Darnold tried to hit him on a quick screen, but his pass was deflected and initially ruled incomplete. Charbonnet grabbed the ball in the end zone just in case, and Seattle was awarded a successful try after officials reviewed the play and determined that Darnold's pass went backward, meaning it was a fumble that Charbonnet recovered.
The Seahawks entered Week 16 allowing the second-fewest points of any defense. Macdonald's unit held the Rams to 249 yards offense in the first meeting with the Rams before getting gashed Thursday night by Stafford. But despite losing three defensive backs in the fourth quarter -- Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen -- they buckled down to force overtime.
Macdonald said Bryant's knee injury "is not automatically season-ending," and that Emmanwori cleared concussion protocol. He had no word on the severity of Woolen's knee injury.
"I think for us there were a few miscommunication times where they were open deep in the back part of the field where we were just miscommunicating, wasn't on the same page," linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. "I think that shifted and we were able to get on the same page for those three three-and-outs."
Jones said unnamed Rams players were laughing at the Seahawks while leading by 16 points in the fourth quarter.
But Darnold and the Seahawks got the last laugh.
"This is a guy that we watch every day," Macdonald said. "Same guy every day, no matter the circumstance. He's an ultimate competitor. He's a phenomenal leader. Just keeps fighting and keeps plugging away. We weren't worried one bit. That's Sam."