Third time's the charm.

The Seattle Seahawks' last two home playoff losses had come at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams, but Sunday at Lumen Field, Sam Darnold outlasted Matthew Stafford in a second-half slugfest that saw Seattle finally top Los Angeles 31-27 in a game that wins them the NFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl LX.

The No. 1-seed Seahawks advance to the fourth Super Bowl in franchise history and first since 2014. Seattle will face Drake Maye and the New England Patriots in Santa Clara on Feb. 8.

Darnold and Stafford each played tremendously, matching one another with blow after blow offensively, where a stretch of four consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter had fans on the edge of their seats.

The Seahawks quarterback overcome the oblique injury that had affected him throughout the postseason to turn in one of the best performances of his career with 346 passing yards, three touchdown passes and no turnovers.

Stafford - the First Team All-Pro and finalist for the NFL MVP award - shined, as well, totaling 374 passing yards and a trio of touchdowns for the No. 5-seed Rams.

Coach of the Year finalist Mike Macdonald had the Seahawks in a groove from the very start, which is where we begin out "Winners and Losers" breakdown from the NFC title game.

The 12th-Man energy was in full effect in the Pacific Northwest as the Seahawks forced a Rams three-and-out to begin the game. That was followed by an explosive touchdown drive on Seattle's first offensive possession.

Rashid Shaheed was finally used as a deep-ball threat in the offense and hauled in a 51-yard reception. Top receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba made his first of many highlight-reel catches and Kenneth Walker III rumbled into the end zone on a screen pass to the right to get the scoring started.

As we expected, the crowd noise would be a factor in slowing down the Rams' offense, and it was this hot start for the Hawks that brought the energy early.

The Rams found success targeting their star wideouts in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, who each had big receptions before halftime and third-quarter touchdowns.

Adams (4 receptions, 89 yards) highlighted the receiving game for LA with his league-leading 15th touchdown catch of the year and Nacua (9 receptions, 165 yards) added to his big night with one of his own, but it was Sean McVay's savvy 12 and 13 personnel packages that led to those openings downfield.

At the line of scrimmage, the Rams were able to put together three straight scoring drives in the first half by running the jumbo personnel they've made a custom throughout the season.

Seattle was slow in adjusting to the three-tight-end sets, which ultimately let Nacua or Adams be left on single coverage or a running back to be open out of the flat and cause damage.

The Seahawks' defense was lucky the offense was moving the ball just as well, because the soon-to-be MVP Stafford knew how to take advantage of certain packages.

Conversely, Seattle knew how to find their top pass-catcher. The blossoming star entered Sunday's game as arguably the best non-quarterback left in the postseason, and by halftime against Los Angeles, you can make the debate that he's the best player period.

After leading the NFL in receiving during the regular season and setting franchise records along the way, "JSN" recorded 115 yards on seven catches in the first half to give the Seahawks a 17-13 lead at the break. His touchdown grab to retake the lead followed a 42-yard connection with Darnold to get the Seahawks into scoring position.

The 23-year-old Ohio State alum finished with 153 receiving yards on 10 catches. Perhaps his most impactful grab was a first-down reception with two and a half minutes left after the Rams had run out of timeouts. The Seahawks would then tack on a few first downs - including a controversial spot on a reception by former Ram Cooper Kupp - to seal the win as Los Angeles would run out of time on their final chance with the ball.

Smith-Njigba is a finalist for the Offensive Player of the Year award alongside Maye, Nacua, Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. Although playoff performances are not to be critiqued in the voting, it's hard to think of anyone else as the most effective offensive player in the league after today.

Leading up to this matchup, we went back to note how the Rams fired their special teams coordinator after not being able to guard Shaheed in kick return coverage ... and yet again, that facet of the game played a major factor in the NFC title game.

The Rams muffed a punt, which set up the Seahawks in the red zone after the fumble recovery gave them new life following a third-quarter three-and-out after halftime.

One play later, Seattle took a 24-13 lead on a touchdown pass to tight end Jake Bobo.

The Seahawks matched the Rams with a blunder of their own when cornerback Tariq Woolen forced an incompletion on third down, but a taunting penalty warranted a 15-yard unsportsmanlike call that kept the ball in the Rams' hands.

Ala how Darnold attacked downfield after the fumble, Stafford went deep for an acrobatic touchdown catch by Nacua to trim the Seahawks lead to 31-27.

Outside of rookie standout Nick Emmanwori, the Seattle secondary had a rough day, and the frustration was visible on the sideline with Emmanwori and Woolen exchanging choice words with one another after the penalty.

For what it's worth ... Woolen is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. This mistake - and his performances in the last two games overall - won't look good during his exit interview.

After allowing Stafford to scramble for a rare first-down run on fourth-and-1 earlier in the drive, the Seahawks came up huge with a fourth-and-5 stop in the red zone to get the ball back and start draining the clock.

Stafford's pass in the back of the end zone was broken up a play after Devon Witherspoon forced an incompletion on third down.

Seattle took over with just under five minutes to play and the four-point lead. The Rams ended the game going 1-8 on third down and 1-2 on fourth down, which ultimately decided their season.

For the Seahawks, it was home-field advantage - once and for all - that sends them to the Super Bowl and one step away from hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the second time ever.