Stacy Rost: Seahawks dramatically flip script to beat Rams

Far be it from me to call out someone trying to avoid traffic, but it was hard not to think of a couple fans leaving Lumen Field following Matthew Stafford’s one-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua to put the Rams up 30-14 over the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth quarter Thursday night.

Seattle Seahawks stun Rams | Instant reaction | Box score

I’ll be honest about it, too: the Rams outpaced the Seahawks through three quarters, and that touchdown to Nacua took the air out of the stadium for a few minutes. It didn’t just feel like a win slipping away from the Seahawks, it felt like the beginning of a piling on.

Listen, there were tens of thousands making the press box shake when Rashid Shaheed returned a punt for a touchdown, and, much later, when tight end Eric Saubert caught a game-winning two-point attempt and was mobbed by the team. But I highlight those who headed toward the exits on a cold and windy Thursday night to say that this did in fact feel like a much different game entering the fourth quarter.

I mean, this game was 30-14 with 13 minutes left! From NFL’s NextGen Stats: the Seahawks win probability was as low as 2.7% with 9:04 remaining. And in Seahawks history, they were 0-172 in games where they trailed by 15 points or more in the fourth quarter.

The anatomy of a comeback: How Seahawks stunned the Rams

There was no room for the best version of the Seahawks on Thursday night, but there was certainly room for the weird version — which is an all-encompassing way to describe a team that scratched and clawed it’s way back into this one.

After all…

The Seahawks have literally never played in a normal game.

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) November 12, 2019

The chaotic comeback began with Shaheed’s return, and continued with a 26-yard touchdown to a wide open A.J. Barner and the strangest two-point conversion you’ll see this year.

Related: Bizarre backwards pass call saves Seahawks in huge win

This one was certainly not a normal game, but it was a thrilling one, and one fans deserved in a meeting between two 11-win teams.

There were good things outside of the win. It was Ken Walker’s best game of the season. He finished with 100 yards on the ground, his second time this season and the first since Week 2 against the Steelers. He had another 64 on three receptions. The team’s 171 rushing yards were their second-most this year and a massive step forward for an offense that’s struggled with consistency there.

The Seahawks were also 3 for 3 on two point attempts. And Sam Darnold, probably feeling the weight of this game like a lead banket after his second pick, led a game-winning drive in overtime to clinch a playoff spot for Seattle.

“I certainly didn’t play my best football,” Darnold said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do there. But at the end of the day we won.”

They did. And for now they hold the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Per The Athletic’s playoff probability calculator, their odds of clinching that sit at 53%. That would improve to 61% with a win over the Panthers (88% if the Falcons and Bears win) in Week 17, but it really all comes down to their Week 18 game against the 49ers.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Stacy Rost: Seahawks dramatically flip script to beat Rams
• Photos: See Seahawks’ new ‘Rivalries’ uniforms on the field
• Report: Seattle in pursuit of hosting future NFL Draft
• Huard: Shaheed will be X-factor for Seahawks’ stretch run
• Another Seattle Seahawks player is challenging an NFL record

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