Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m still getting used to the fact that the College Football Playoff starts this early. The first game is tonight: Alabama at Oklahoma on ABC and ESPN at 8 p.m. ET. If you’re looking for an appetizer, Kennesaw State and Western Michigan are playing in the Myrtle Beach Bowl at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN.
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In today’s SI:AM:
💪 Seahawks’ big win
👑 King back to Padres
🏈 Top 100 NFL draft prospects
One for the ages
The Seahawks seized control of the race for the NFC West crown and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs on Thursday with an incredible comeback against the Rams.
Los Angeles started to tighten its grip on the game when Matthew Stafford found Puka Nacua with a no-look pass for a touchdown that extended the Rams’ lead to 30–14 with 13:34 left in the fourth quarter. When Sam Darnold threw an interception in the shadow of the Rams’ goal line on the next series, it looked like the Seahawks were dead.
But then Seattle’s outstanding defense flexed its muscles and got the team right back in the game.
The comeback began when the Seahawks forced a Rams three-and-out on the possession immediately following Darnold’s pick (his second of the game). Rashid Shaheed, acquired last month in a trade with the Saints, returned the ensuing punt 58 yards for a touchdown. Seattle successfully converted the two-point attempt to make it 30–22. The Seahawks then forced the Rams into another three-and-out, Shaheed made another big play (a 31-yard gain on an end around) and Seattle scored another touchdown.
The two-point conversion that tied the game was one of the weirdest plays you’ll ever see. The Seahawks attempted to run a wide receiver screen, but Darnold’s pass deflected off the helmet of a Rams defender and rolled into the end zone, where it was picked up nonchalantly by running back Zach Charbonnet. After a replay review, the officials ruled that the pass had been backward and recovered by Charbonnet for a successful conversion.
After all that, the game went to overtime. The Rams scored first, but the Seahawks answered and completed one last two-point conversion for the win.
The two teams entered the game tied atop the division at 11–3. With two games left to play, the Seahawks now control their own destiny in their pursuit of the top seed in the NFC. If they win both remaining games (at the Panthers and at the 49ers), they’ll earn the coveted first-round bye. Thursday’s result also greatly benefits the Niners: If San Francisco (10–4) wins all three of its remaining games (Monday night at the Colts, home against the Bears and the finale against Seattle), then it would be the top seed in the conference.
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that this game may have determined who will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Both teams have cemented themselves in a tier above the rest of the conference, and the Seahawks’ win put them in position to earn a clearer path to Santa Clara if they can take care of business over the final two weeks and clinch the bye (not to mention home field advantage in a potential NFC championship game rematch).
The loss shouldn’t make us think much less of the Rams, though. Stafford is still the frontrunner for the MVP award after another stellar game against the Seahawks (457 passing yards and three touchdowns), and Nacua is in the midst of a historic hot streak. He had 12 catches for 225 yards and two scores on Thursday, making him just the third player in the last 30 years to have three straight games with at least 150 receiving yards. (CeeDee Lamb in 2023 and Josh Gordon in ’13 are the others.)
If there’s a reason for concern, it’s Los Angeles’s mediocre special teams unit. “We knew they had kind of a weak point with their special teams,” Shaheed said after the game. It wasn’t just the return touchdown, though. Kicker Harrison Mevis, signed in November after Joshua Karty missed a slew of kicks, missed a 48-yard field goal attempt that would have given the Rams the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Given the stakes, the big comeback and the five lead changes, there’s no denying that Thursday’s game was the best one we’ve seen this season. With any luck, we’ll get to see these two teams meet for a third time in January.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Matt Verderame makes the case for Rams-Seahawks being the best game of this NFL season.
- It was a rough week for Puka Nacua off the field, but his talent overshadowed the controversy on Thursday night. Gilberto Manzano writes that he still needs to prove he’s capable of making responsible decisions away from the field.
- With the College Football Playoff set to begin tonight, Pat Forde ranks the 12 people involved who are under the most pressure.
- Michael King, one of the top pitchers available on the free-agent market, is returning to the Padres. Ryan Phillips breaks down what the signing means for San Diego.
- Daniel Flick includes nine players from Ohio State in his latest ranking of the 100 best NFL draft prospects.
- Our experts make their picks for all the rest of the games in the NFL this week.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Connor McDavid’s shorthanded goal against the Bruins.
4. Three amazing plays by Victor Wembanyama in a span of less than four minutes.
3. A clutch bucket by Cooper Flagg late in the Mavericks’ win over the Pistons. (Flagg also had a nice dunk earlier in the game.)
2. An outrageous dunk by the Hornets’ Brandon Miller.
1. Jalen Brunson’s game-winning step-back three that elicited a rare double “Bang!” from Mike Breen.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Epic Battle vs. Rams Gives Seahawks a Leg Up in Race for No. 1 Seed.