Seahawks had a brilliant way to get JSN open in NFC title win

You would think there’s no hiding Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver for the 2025 season. But the Seattle Seahawks still found a way to confuse the Los Angeles Rams’ defense when it came to the All-Pro’s whereabouts in the NFC Championship on Sunday.

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Even though the Rams were facing Smith-Njigba and the Seahawks for the third time in just over two months, “JSN” burned the LA defense for 153 yards on 10 catches to help Seattle punch its ticket to Super Bowl 60. That included a 14-yard touchdown catch where he found himself completely wide open in the end zone.

How does something like that happen with a superstar player in the biggest game of the year for the Rams? Fresh off of the touchdown, analyst and former NFL wide receiver Bryan Walters explained at halftime on the Seahawks Radio Network broadcast on Seattle Sports.

“You saw JSN in the backfield a little bit,” said Walters, a Bothell native who played on the Seahawks’ back-to-back 2013 and 2014 Super Bowl squads. “You saw him, I think the first couple plays, he was lined up as a running back next to Sam Darnold. That does things to fool the defense. … It’s easier to get lost.”

Walters said that’s exactly what happened on the touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Darnold to JSN that pushed the Seahawks from a three-point deficit to a four-point lead with just 20 seconds to go in the second quarter – a lead Seattle would never relinquish.

End zone had his name on it all drive long. @jaxon_smith1

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/eMyG4bHgei

— xz* – Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 26, 2026

“JSN was in the backfield, and they dropped him,” Walters said of the play. “One safety thought maybe the (cornerback) had JSN. The corner thought the safety had JSN. And there he is wide open for a touchdown.”

Per Pro Football Focus, the Seahawks had JSN in the backfield for 11 plays during the regular season, a few more times than the eight combined snaps he had in the backfield between 2023 and 2024. It was enough of a wrinkle to throw off the Rams on Sunday, and a good example of why the Seahawks have excelled in their first season under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who has received interest from NFL teams looking for new head coaches for 2026.

“That’s kind of the brilliance in the play calling is putting your star in a spot that can fool the defense,” Walters said. “Because you know they’re paying attention to where JSN is, but if you can get them to kind of miscommunicate, especially here at Lumen Field, then you’re going to get those plays like that.”

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