The Los Angeles Rams have been eliminated by the Seattle Seahawks, falling short of reaching the Super Bowl.
The Los Angeles Rams have been eliminated from the playoffs at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. Despite a fighting spirit through the regular season and the playoffs, they will not reach the Super Bowl.
Los Angeles and Seattle met twice in the regular season, both games being decided by less than a field goal, and the NFC Championship was nearly the same.
Seattle was able to escape the game with a 31-27 final score.
At the start of the game, the Seahawks stopped the Rams on their first offensive drive, and Sam Darnold got to work.
Darnold threw a 51-yard bomb to Rashid Shaheed, followed by a big 16-yard completion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. It did not take the Seahawks long to score, but the Rams would fire back immediately.
Matthew Stafford pulled off a massive 44-yard bomb to Puka Nacua, but the Seahawks' defense held strong, only allowing a field goal.
After a pair of field goals following the opening score, the Seahawks would lead 10-6 through to the nine minutes left in the second. The Rams began to come alive, and they picked up a huge touchdown on the legs of Blake Corum and some fantastic catches from Nacua.
Los Angeles would lead 13-10, but that did not last long, and it would be their only lead of the game.
After a couple of possession changes with less than a minute before halftime, Darnold would once again connect with Smith-Njigba for a 42-yard bomb to set up the late second-quarter touchdown.
Seattle would lead again, 17-13.
In the third quarter, the Rams and Seahawks began to heat up, and both rifled off a pair of touchdowns.
The game appeared to be headed for a shoot-out that would go down to the wire, and that is exactly what happened.
Los Angeles trailed the Seahawks 27-31, heading into the fourth, and things began to get serious.
The Rams stopped the Seahawks early in the fourth, getting the ball back with a little over 12 minutes left. After a 7:24 drive from the Rams that included 15, 13, and 15-yard passes to Corum, Williams, and Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles marched downfield to the redzone.
Seattle's defense held strong, and Sean McVay prompted the Rams to go for the fourth-down touchdown, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The Seahawks chewed up the clock on their last offensive drive, with big first-down pickups by Cooper Kupp and Smith-Njigba, leaving the Rams with 25 seconds.
A 23-yard pass to Nacua helped the Rams stretch the field, but they had no timeouts and could not muster a comeback, ending their 2025 season.
Stafford put together 374 yards and three touchdowns, in what could have been an MVP-sealing performance.
Oddly enough, the run game was stifled a bit, as Corum and Williams brought in 114 rushing yards, along with Stafford and Nacua aiding the effort with small runs of their own.
Now, they will look to free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft.