Trailing, 30-14, with a little more than 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Darnold and the Seahawks weren’t just looking at an uphill battle, but a scary story. Before Thursday night, the Seahawks were 0-172 when trailing by 15-plus points in the fourth quarter.
That all changed with a frenetic finish in which Darnold also changed some of his personal history against the Rams.
Playing for the Minnesota Vikings in last year’s playoff series against the Rams in Glendale, Ariz. (Los Angeles’ home game was postponed due to wildfires in Southern California), Darnold was 25 of 40 for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while notching nine sacks and a tackle in a 27-9 loss.
In Week 11 of this season, the Seahawks lost 21-19 to the host Rams in large part due to Darnold’s multiple four interceptions.
Darnold played down the importance of playing the Rams, calling them “just another opponent” as he headed into Thursday’s extra game.
After a pair of second-half interceptions by Darnold, however, it looked very much like the Rams were the package the quarterback couldn’t get out of his bed.
Darnold’s determination and Rashid Shaheed’s power were able to stop the trend.
“I think for us, especially for me, I’ve had games like that in the past where I haven’t necessarily played my best football and turned the ball over,” Darnold said, “but at the end of the game you see yourself on the other side. It’s not great when you have interceptions and turnovers, you want to limit that, but all you can do is fight back and go through the ball to receive and go through the ball. My read.”
After Darnold was picked off by Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner, the Seahawks defense forced a fumble. That set up Shaheed’s comeback story, as he roared through the Rams’ special-teams scrimmage for a 58-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing two-point play, Darnold began to rewrite his narrative, finding former Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp for two scores and one play.