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The Los Angeles Rams take on the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
The Rams and Seahawks split their regular-season series, with each team winning a close game at home. NFL MVP favorite Matthew Stafford is seeking his second trip to the Super Bowl, while the Seahawks are looking to return there for the first time in 11 years.
Follow live for the latest news, play-by-play updates and analysis from The Athletic’s NFL staff.
Share your thoughts on today’s game: live@theathletic.com
Did you notice that the Seahawks have built the perfect modern defense? How has Mike Madconald done it in just Year 2 of his tenure in Seattle? Robert Mays takes a deep dive.
Thanks in large part to their last meeting with the Rams — more on that later on — the Seahawks entered the playoffs as the NFC West champions and No. 1 seed in the conference. That earned Seattle a bye to the divisional round, setting up another game against a division rival it had seen twice already this season in the San Francisco 49ers. Making things even more nerve-racking for Seattle fans was the news that quarterback Sam Darnold suffered an oblique injury in practice on Thursday and sat out Friday, making him a game-time decision on Saturday night.
It only took roughly 13 seconds for Seahawks fans’ anxiety to turn into jubilation. That’s how long it took Seattle’s Rashid Shaheed to run the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, setting the tone for a 41-6 Seahawks beatdown over the 49ers in Seattle’s first home game in front of fans in nine years. Darnold only had to attempt 17 passes but looked comfortable doing so, recording 12 completions for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Kenneth Walker ran for 116 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and the Seahawks’ defense flexed with three takeaways and three fourth-down stops. The game was so lopsided that Darnold, Walker and several other Seahawks first-stringers were pulled early in the fourth quarter after Walker’s third score.
GO FURTHER
Seahawks demand everyone’s attention with drubbing of 49ers: ‘Showing our talents off’
Did you notice that the Rams offense has completely reinvented itself since their last Super Bowl run?
Robert Mays breaks down the film to illustrate the evolution of Sean McVay's system. The Rams' offense may look a lot different than it did the last time they won a title, but the mindset powering it — always trying to find ways to stay a half step ahead — has never really changed.
Like in the wild-card round, the Rams had to go on the road to weather a furious late comeback by a No. 1 overall pick quarterback to pull out a victory. This time, the victory came more dramatically as the Rams needed overtime to finally put away a Chicago team nicknamed the “Cardiac Bears” for its many improbable late victories this season.
The Rams appeared set to seal a win in regulation after Kyren Williams ran in for a touchdown with 8:50 left in the fourth quarter. But on fourth-and-14 deep in the red zone, Caleb Williams scrambled all the way back to the Rams’ 45-yard line before uncorking a perfectly-placed pass for Cole Kmet in the corner of the end zone to tie the game. It appeared the Bears had all the momentum after stopping the Rams on L.A.’s opening drive of overtime and driving across midfield, but Rams safety Cam Kurl perfectly read a DJ Moore deep out route to intercept Williams’ pass, giving Matthew Stafford another chance to drive into range for a game-winning 42-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis. The thrilling 20-17 win sent the Rams to the NFC Championship Game for the third time under Sean McVay, and they are 2-0 previously (in the 2018 and 2021 seasons).
Despite a 12-5 regular-season record, the Rams were edged by the Seahawks for the NFC West title and No. 1 seed in the conference, dropping the Rams to the No. 5 seed and forcing them to play their postseason on the road. That journey started in Carolina, against the NFC South champion Panthers. But in their first home playoff game in 10 years, the 8-9 Panthers showed plenty of fight, even taking a 31-27 lead with under three minutes remaining thanks to a beautiful Bryce Young touchdown pass to Jake Coker after Carolina blocked a Rams punt.
Yet despite a rough second half caused by a sprained index finger in his throwing hand, Matthew Stafford came through clutch once again for the Rams. He led a seven-play, 71-yard drive, capping it with a beautiful 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson to give the Rams a three-point advantage with just 38 seconds to go. L.A. held on for the 34-31 win and moved on to the divisional round.
It’s appropriate that this Seahawks defense calls itself “The Dark Side” because much like the original “Star Wars” trilogy, it’s barreling toward a hotly anticipated final chapter following an incredible first two installments. Both sides have been anticipating this finale to their 2025 rivalry for weeks, and they’re as ready for it as we are, Michael-Shawn Dugar writes.
For most of the regulation in the Rams’ Week 16 trip to Seattle on “Thursday Night Football,” it appeared to be more of the same for Sam Darnold against L.A.
The Seahawks’ quarterback threw two more interceptions, giving him six on the season against the Rams. The latter came in the fourth quarter with 9:39 left and the Rams holding a 30-14 lead behind an unstoppable connection between Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua. But then Seattle staged one of the most memorable comebacks in its storied team history. Rashid Shaheed had a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown and set up another Seahawks score with a 31-yard gain on a reverse, which Darnold followed with a 26-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Barner. The Seahawks then tied the game on an absurd two-point conversion as Darnold’s pass to Cooper Kupp was initially ruled incomplete but, upon replay, was ruled a lateral and thus a live ball picked up by Zach Charbonnet in the end zone when the play was thought to be dead, awarding the Seahawks the score.
Neither team scored again in regulation, including a missed 48-yard field goal try from L.A.’s Harrison Mevis just before the two-minute warning. Then in overtime, Stafford found Nacua again on a 41-yard touchdown pass, the receiver’s second score of the day. But the Seahawks answered again, as Darnold led a 65-yard touchdown drive capped off with a 4-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for six and then a pass to Eric Saubert in the end zone for the game-winning two-point conversion to finish off a thrilling 38-37 win.
Stafford threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns, with 225 of those yards and two of those touchdowns going to Nacua. Darnold threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns in the win, arguably the biggest of his career, as the Seahawks vaulted the Rams for first place in both the NFC West and the conference itself and never relinquished control.
GO FURTHER
After Sam Darnold’s redemption fuels miracle rally, the Seahawks are laughing atop the NFC
The first time these teams faced off this season was in Week 11, when both defenses showed out, but the Rams’ unit carried the day at SoFi Stadium with four interceptions off Sam Darnold. Jason Myers missed a 61-yard field goal as time expired to give L.A. a 21-19 win.
Darnold had his worst game of the season, going 29-of-44 passing for 279 yards and no touchdowns. Matthew Stafford also had one of the worst games of his season in his first test against Seattle’s defense but still finished 15-of-28 with 130 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
The Rams also got 91 rushing yards and a touchdown run from Kyren Williams.
GO FURTHER
Seahawks-Rams takeaways: L.A. wins NFC West lead; Darnold throws 4 INTs
Both the Rams and Seahawks have played in two NFC Championship Games each since 2010 — and they’re each 2-0. Something will have to give today. But first, let’s recap those four prior games:
Jan. 2022: Donald's ‘ring me’ moment
In the years since their Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, the Rams had grown increasingly aggressive in upgrading their roster around homegrown centerpieces like defensive end Aaron Donald and wide receiver Cooper Kupp. They traded Jared Goff and multiple first-round picks to Detroit in 2021 for longtime Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and then stayed aggressive during the 2021 season, adding established stars like Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller to fill roster needs. Even still, L.A. entered with the No. 4 seed after a second-half collapse and overtime loss against the San Francisco 49ers at home in the final week of the regular season, allowing the NFC West rival into the playoffs.
Three weeks later, the 49ers returned to SoFi Stadium with a Super Bowl trip on the line after stunning Aaron Rodgers and the No. 1 seed Packers on the road in the divisional round, while the Rams had survived another late comeback from Tom Brady’s Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. This time, it was the Rams who clawed back from a 17-7 deficit, getting some luck as Jaquiski Tartt dropped what would have been an easy interception on a Stafford throw late in the fourth quarter with San Francisco ahead 17-14. Instead, Stafford seized on the missed opportunity to get his team into field-goal range, then led another field-goal drive after the Rams forced a quick 49ers three-and-out to take a 20-17 lead with under two minutes remaining.
L.A.’s defense then came through clutch again, led by its best player, Donald. The superstar defensive lineman shed his blockers and pressured 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, forcing a hasty throw that resulted in a game-sealing interception. Donald then turned to the end zone cameras and pointed towards his ring finger. Two weeks later, he would get his desired championship ring as the Rams defeated the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Both the Rams and Seahawks have played in two NFC Championship Games each since 2010 — and they’re each 2-0. Something will have to give today. But first, let’s recap those four prior games…
Jan. 2019: The no-call heard around the world
The 2018 NFC Championship Game was a battle of two of the sport’s best offensive minds in Sean Payton, the longtime Saints coach seeking his second Super Bowl title with Drew Brees, and Sean McVay, the second-year Rams coach who had injected life into both the team and the career of former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. The game lived up to the hype, tied 20-20 inside the two-minute warning with the Saints driving into Rams territory. On third-and-10 from L.A.’s 13-yard line, Brees threw one toward slot receiver Tommylee Lewis, only for Lewis to get decked by hard-charging Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. However, no flag was thrown on what seemed like clear pass interference, enraging Brees, Payton and the many Saints fans inside the Superdome.
New Orleans settled for a field goal, which the Rams later matched, sending the game into overtime. After the Rams picked off Brees on another controversial play in overtime, Goff led L.A. into field-goal range, and Greg Zuerlein hit a 57-yarder to send the Rams to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1999 season, when they lost to the Patriots.
Payton soon received a call from the NFL league office, and Robey-Coleman was later fined for his hit on Lewis, both admissions of guilt from the league that a flag should have been thrown. The NFL even briefly experimented with making pass interference calls reviewable the following season as a result of the play.
Both the Rams and Seahawks have played in two NFC Championship Games each since 2010 — and they’re each 2-0. Something will have to give today. But first, let’s recap those four prior games:
Jan. 2015: Seahawks author wild comeback over Packers
For three-plus quarters, the Seahawks hardly looked like defending Super Bowl champions. Seattle trailed 16-0 at halftime and 19-7 late in the fourth quarter, with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers seemingly destined for a date with Tom Brady’s Patriots, who rolled over the Colts in the AFC Championship Game later that evening. Seattle did not even score until a third-quarter fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown pass from holder Jon Ryan to backup offensive lineman Garry Gilliam.
Russell Wilson then got the game within one possession by leading a touchdown drive that he capped with a short run to the end zone with just more than two minutes remaining. The Seahawks went for an onside kick and got another stroke of bizarre luck as the Packers’ Brandon Bostick had the ball bounce off his helmet and land in the arms of Seahawks receiver Chris Matthews. With momentum clearly on their side, the Seahawks went on another quick-strike touchdown drive, then Wilson hit a miraculous two-point conversion pass to Luke Willson for a 22-19 lead. The Packers hit a field goal to send the game into overtime and then had the Seahawks facing third-and-6 at their own 30 in the first possession of overtime — only for Wilson to hit Doug Baldwin for a 35-yard first down and then hit Jermaine Kearse on a go route for the game-winning touchdown and an unforgettable 28-22 comeback victory.
The Seahawks were on the other end of unbelievable late drama two weeks later in the Super Bowl, however, as Wilson threw an interception on the goal line to Malcolm Butler to give Brady and the Patriots their fourth Super Bowl title.
Both the Rams and Seahawks have played in two NFC Championship Games each since 2010 — and they’re each 2-0. Something will have to give today. But first, let’s recap those four prior games:
Jan. 2014: The Sherman-Crabtree game
The play itself is memorable on its own. With roughly 30 seconds left in a thrilling NFC Championship Game between a 49ers team coming off a Super Bowl berth and a Seahawks team looking to validate its legendary “Legion of Boom” defense, San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick dropped back to pass and heaved one toward Michael Crabtree in the end zone, seeking a game-tying touchdown with the 49ers down by seven.
Instead, star Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman lept, extended in front of the slightly underthrown ball and tipped it with one hand to teammate Malcolm Smith, who came down with the game-sealing interception. As spectacular as the play was, what Sherman did next is what fans remember most about that night. Speaking to Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews on national TV just moments after the game ended, Sherman directly called out Crabtree:
💬 “I’m the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’re gonna get. Don’t you ever talk about me. … Don’t you open your mouth about the best, or I’m gonna shut it for you real quick. L-O-B.”
NFL Films footage later showed that Crabtree had shoved Sherman in his facemask when Sherman went for a handshake after the final whistle, and Sherman has since claimed that Crabtree had disrespected him in other interactions before that play. The Seahawks went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos.
Seattle’s Lumen Field, formerly known as Qwest Field and CenturyLink Field, will host today’s game. The stadium is also known as the home of the “12s,” the Seahawks’ loud and vibrant fanbase that makes the stadium one of the most hostile road environments in the entire NFL. Lumen Field seats up to 72,000 for NFL games and at times has held the Guinness World Record for being the loudest stadium in the world.
It is sure to be rocking again today as the stadium hosts the fourth NFC Championship Game in its history. The previous three have all been won by the home Seahawks, taking place in 2005, 2013 and 2014.
Lumen Field is also home to Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS and Seattle Reign FC of the NWSL and will host four matches, including one played by the United States, in the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup.
Can Sam Darnold outduel Matthew Stafford again? Is this current Seahawks defense better than the Legion of Boom at its peak? Will Puka Nacua or Jaxon Smith-Njigba have a bigger impact on this game?
We’d love to hear from you throughout today’s coverage. Send us your thoughts on this game to live@theathletic.com. We will take the best of your takes and feature them right here in our live coverage!
The NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks will be broadcast by Fox.
Fox Sports’ No. 1 NFL broadcast team will have the call, featuring Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Tom Brady (analyst), Erin Andrews (sideline reporter) and Tom Rinaldi (sideline reporter).
The NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET. That’s 3:30 p.m. PT, local time in Seattle.
Hello, and welcome back to The Athletic’s live coverage of the 2025-26 NFL playoffs.
Today, we’re in Seattle for a hotly anticipated NFC Championship Game that’s a rematch of one of the best games of the regular season as the Los Angeles Rams face off against the Seattle Seahawks in an all-NFC West showdown with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Will NFL MVP favorite Matthew Stafford get closer to his second Lombardi Trophy, or will a new generation of a loaded Seahawks defense return Seattle to the Super Bowl for the first time in more than a decade? Follow along as we build up to kickoff and take you through the action with live updates and expert analysis from The Athletic’s NFL staff.
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