Macdonald explains Seahawks’ game-winning 2-point decision

Mike Macdonald and the Seattle Seahawks went for the win.

And it paid off in the biggest of ways.

After the Los Angeles Rams struck first in overtime to take a 37-30 lead in Thursday night’s massive NFC West showdown, the Seahawks responded with a touchdown drive of their own to pull within 37-36 with 3:13 left in the extra period.

Brock Huard: The reason Sam Darnold was able to lead Seahawks over Rams

At that point, the Seahawks could have kicked an extra point to tie the game. Under the NFL’s new regular-season overtime rules – which were implemented this season to align with the league’s OT rules for the playoffs – that would have turned the remainder of overtime into a sudden-death affair.

Instead, Macdonald decided to go for a 2-point conversion, which meant the Seahawks would either win or lose on that play. It worked out in Seattle’s favor, as Sam Darnold hit tight end Eric Saubert in the front of the end zone to cap a stunning comeback and give the Seahawks a dramatic 38-37 victory.

DARNOLD. SAUBERT. @SEAHAWKS WIN! pic.twitter.com/VF2QElidFV

— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2025

What went into the decision to go for 2? Macdonald, who said the decision was made prior to the Seahawks’ overtime TD drive, explained the rationale during his conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Friday morning.

“We could kick the extra point, (and) now they have three minutes to go down the field to just basically only kick a field goal. And we’d been playing good defense in the last quarter or so, but we gave up a couple third downs. And we’re down three guys in our secondary,” Macdonald said, referencing the in-game injuries to safety Coby Bryant, safety Nick Emmanwori and cornerback Riq Woolen. “We were kind of scrambling to try to figure out what we can call and what we can’t.

“And OK, and what does that do? OK, so you either tie the game (and) maybe you get a three-and-out and you get a chance to go kick a field goal, or you’re going to lose the game. So it seems like a lot of downside. Or, hey, look, if we can maybe tilt the scales a little bit in our favor on the 2-point play, now we’re looking at an over 50% chance of winning the game. Let’s rock and roll.”

Hear the full conversation in the video at the top of this story. The Mike Macdonald Show airs at 9:30 a.m. during Brock and Salk the day after Seahawks games.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Where Seattle Seahawks’ No. 1 seed odds stand after epic win
• The anatomy of a comeback: How Seahawks stunned the Rams
• Stacy Rost: Seahawks dramatically flip script to beat Rams
• Instant Reaction: Seattle Seahawks outlast Rams, clinch playoffs
• Bizarre backwards pass call saves Seattle Seahawks in huge win

Related

Brock: ‘Hard Knocks’ showing why Seahawks WR Cooper Kupp is ‘uncommon’New Seahawks CB Trevon Diggs ‘looking to show that I’m still the best’Bump: ‘There’s some concern’ with Seahawks’ CB situationReport: Seahawks signing CB Trevon Diggs amid Terrion Arnold uncertaintyBrock: Where Seahawks QB Jalen Milroe needs to improveSeahawks on ‘Hard Knocks’: What stood out from episode 3