Sean McVay's Rams had to claw their way back into the NFC Championship Game just to have a chance.
In the end, their effort came up painfully short.
In what is often a sport decided by mere inches, a few narrow margins prevented the Rams from pulling off a courageous comeback at Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday. Two end zone incompletions caused by Seahawks pass breakups ended the Rams' best remaining chance of taking the lead, rendering a 14-play, 79-yard drive fruitless. Minutes later, with their Super Bowl hopes on the line, former Rams great Cooper Kupp made the most important play of the final quarter, catching a pass and extending the ball just enough to clear the line to gain for a fresh set of downs and allowing the Seahawks to drain precious minutes from the clock.
By the time the Rams regained possession, 25 seconds remained. On the third and final play of that doomed drive, Puka Nacua made an excellent grab. As he fell toward the sideline, his shin touched the turf in bounds, allowing the clock to expire and crown Seattle as NFC champions following a 31-27 victory.
Inches. That was the difference between McVay's squad seeing their magical journey continue in Santa Clara, California, or concluding Sunday night.
"I love our group. The finality of all it, didn't ever really expect this," McVay said during a notably brief postgame news conference. "We came here with the expectation to win. We had our chances. They made their plays. It was a great back-and-forth by two great teams. Just a couple of critical errors that ended up costing us. But love this team. It's one of my all-time favorites.
"I'll be honest with you, nothing but gratitude for these guys. Nothing but respect for the Seahawks. I'm pretty numb. I think the finality of all of it when you don't allow yourself to even think about anything other than advancing. I felt like we were going to be the team on that podium and we weren't, and you give Seattle the credit. But I love this group and I'm never really short on words and I am right now. It's tough. But this is sports and you've got to be able to deal with it."
In each of the three aforementioned pivotal moments, McVay was given mere seconds to react. He was convicted in his decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal (and screamed into his play sheet in frustration when it failed), conflicted in how he should handle the pivotal review of Kupp's reception (he begrudgingly declined to challenge the spot), and focused, but likely praying for a miracle in the game's final seconds.
These are the emotional peaks and valleys of high-stakes professional football.
McVay understandably did not express regret for going for it on fourth-and-goal while trailing by four points, but admitted he considered burning a timeout to reconsider the play call before the fourth-down try.
"I was. I mean we had our chances," he explained. "I thought about it and didn't decide to do it. It didn't work out for us. I thought our guys played well. We got a lot of what we wanted today. Felt really good about the way that our guys executed, specifically on the offensive side. That was a situation where we just kind of came up short. They kind of lucked into having two guys peel on Kyren (Williams). I know that can't be part of their design. So that's a fortuitous bust by them. … They're an excellent team. They earned the win, and they're NFC champs for a reason."
When McVay reflects on what went wrong in Seattle, he can point to a third-quarter sequence in which the Rams forced a punt and then promptly returned possession to the Seahawks when Xavier Smith muffed the punt. One play later, Seattle was celebrating a Sam Darnold touchdown pass to Jake Bobo, giving the Seahawks an 11-point lead.
From there, it was all about climbing out of the hole the Rams had dug for themselves. NFL MVP candidate Matthew Stafford responded accordingly, leading an explosive, aerial-focused drive that covered 75 yards in four plays and ended in a two-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. At that moment, the race was truly on; Seattle covered 65 yards in nine plays and scored on a touchdown pass to Kupp, and the Rams immediately responded with a 34-yard pass to Puka Nacua-- made possible only after Tariq Woolen was flagged for taunting, granting the Rams a fresh set of downs -- for a touchdown to draw within four in the final three minutes of the third.
A heavyweight title bout had broken out, and both McVay and Stafford were ready for the moment.
That would ultimately be it for the scoring, however. The Rams mounted a classically methodical fourth-quarter drive, draining 7:24 off the clock and appearing destined to finish in the end zone, but the Seahawks' defense bowed up, denying two Stafford attempts. And when it came time to put the game away, the MVP from L.A.'s Super Bowl LVI win, Kupp, delivered just as he had for years in royal blue and sol, converting a crucial third down on a drive that required Seattle's full complement of weapons to produce in order to keep Stafford and the Rams off the field.
In a game that is so often decided by a handful of plays, it's impossible to not point to Smith's muffed punt as a major influence on the outcome. It's also emblematic of the Rams' persistent special teams issues that have plagued them throughout the season, and especially painful given how it affected the flow of the rest of the game.
"It's tough because X, man, has been so reliable," McVay said. "He bobbled the first one and we were lucky to get back on it. That one, it was costly. I love him, he's done a great job. Obviously, Kyren did a nice job being able to field it from that point on. But that was a tough one.
"We get a great stop coming out of the second half. You feel like you're going to be able to get some good momentum and they score on the very first play after we turn it over to open it up to an 11-point lead. I love the way that offensively we went right down the field in four plays. I just thought there was a lot of resolve. A lot of resilience from our group, and we just came up short today."
Although he's a coach who owns a 1-1 record in the Super Bowl and has experienced his share of disappointments, McVay seemed to feel this loss more than the others. It became brutally evident when he was asked whether Stafford -- one of the NFL's top two quarterbacks in 2025 -- will return to play in 2026.
"Yeah, if he still wants to play," McVay said. "What the hell kind of question is that?
"You'll have to ask him. We've been totally present. I know that if he wants to, he's still playing at a pretty damn good clip. He's the MVP of the league and if he's not, you know, I've got respect for everybody else but this guy played at a level that's just different."
Sensing it was time to end his media session, McVay thanked reporters, knocked his knuckles on the podium and walked off.
He, the Rams and their legion of fans wish it wasn't the last postgame goodbye of the season. If anybody knows how difficult it is to return to the doorstep of the Super Bowl, it's McVay.
"Well, I mean, I think you make a couple plays tonight, and we're talking about a different thing, so I don't think it's as simple as that," he said when asked if he thought the Rams might advance to the Super Bowl next season. "You start all over. I mean, you know that, and that's what's so hard because to get to these positions. … There is so much work, there's so much time, things have to go your way, you have to stay healthy. It's a special group, and so, you know, you know this, and I know you know this, I'm not minimizing the question. It doesn't work like that, you know? You gotta make these plays, and you gotta capitalize on these opportunities when you get the chances, and, um, you know, Seattle was able to do that, and we weren't.
"But it doesn't take away my love and appreciation for this football team."
