Seahawks-Rams Was the NFL's Game of the Year

In a season where no team has captured the imagination, the Rams and Seahawks did so and then some on Thursday night.

It’s fitting how the 38–37 instant classic ended, with Seattle winning to improve to 12–3 to take control of the NFC West and the conference’s top seed with two games remaining.

The Seahawks opted for a two-point conversion in overtime after driving 65 yards to score a touchdown, bringing them to within a point of Los Angeles. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak could have dialed up a one-on-one situation with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the NFL with 1,637 receiving yards. He could have handed off to Kenneth Walker III, who ran for 100 yards on the night.

Instead, staying in step with the bizarre world that is the 2025 season, Kubiak called a short, over-the-middle pass.

To Eric Saubert.

A tight end who was released earlier in the season, but returned recently and signed a one-year extension in December.

Seahawks win.

Saubert entered the night with two catches for 21 yards on the season. In his nine-year career, which has seen him play for the Broncos, Falcons, 49ers, Texans, Jaguars, Bears, Cowboys and Seahawks, he has 410 receiving yards. Technically, the two he accrued on Thursday night won’t count toward his total.

How fitting that the two biggest yards of Saubert’s life, of this entire wacky campaign, will exist only in memory as the years go on.

For much of the night, it appeared the Rams were going to make a compelling statement as the best team in football. They picked off Sam Darnold twice and forced a Cooper Kupp fumble in the red zone. Los Angeles racked up four sacks while totaling an absurd 581 yards, including 457 passing yards from Matthew Stafford, 225 to Puka Nacua.

But then the fourth quarter happened, and Los Angeles’s 16-point lead evaporated like fog coming off Mount Rainier. The Rams had three consecutive three-and-outs. Their special teams, which cost them games early this year against the Eagles and 49ers with missed and blocked field goals, imploded again.

Leading 30–14, Seahawks return man Rashid Shaheed took a punt 58 yards to the end zone to cut the deficit to 30–22 after a successful two-point try. After a 63-second possession, Rams punter Ethan Evans shanked the attempt, netting just 32 yards. Two plays later, Seattle was in the end zone before the wackiest two-point conversion of all time, which saw Darnold’s pass battled down by edge rusher Jared Verse. However, the play was reviewed and it was determined Darnold’s pass was a lateral and recovered by back Zach Charbonnet, giving the Seahawks a successful try and a 30–30 tie game with 6:23 remaining in regulation.

Ultimately, Los Angeles has to feel sick. It outgained Seattle by 166 yards and was plus-three in the turnover battle while holding the ball for more than 40 minutes. The Rams also led on three different occasions, including in overtime, only to watch the lead slip time and again.

As for Seattle, it should be elated with its biggest win since the days of Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson. Had the Seahawks lost, the story would have been Darnold having six interceptions in two games against Los Angeles, with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula having his number after a season sweep and orchestrating his postseason exit with the Vikings last year. Instead, Darnold now has a career-defining win.

Los Angeles now needs to win out while either the Seahawks lose next week to the Panthers or fall to the 49ers in Week 18. If the latter scenario happens, San Francisco must lose to either the Colts or Bears in the next 10 days, or the 49ers would win the division at 13–4 and earn home-field advantage.

Based on what has happened so far this season, buckle up for any and every possibility.

In a year where nothing has seemed right, Thursday night was the ultimate microcosm of that feeling. The Rams might be the best team in football. The Seahawks can also make that claim, perhaps better than anybody else after earning a split of the season series. The rubber match may happen in January. We can only hope.

In the second edition, though, both teams played up to the moment. They surpassed the wildest imaginations possible, and delivered perhaps the best Thursday Night Football game in history.