2025 Los Angeles Rams–Seattle Seahawks game

On December 18, 2025, the Los Angeles Rams traveled to Seattle, Washington to play their rival Seattle Seahawks on a Thursday Night Football game in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season. The game became notable in the weeks before, as the Rams and Seahawks both emerged as front runners to win the NFC West and secure the top seed in the NFC playoffs; the winner of the game would take the lead in both the division and the conference. The two teams had previously played in Los Angeles in Week 11, with the Rams winning 21–19.^[2]

The Seahawks, who were down 30–14 in the fourth quarter and had turned the ball over three times, came from behind to win 38–37 in overtime. During the comeback, Seattle returned a punt for a touchdown and completed three two-point conversions.^[3] With their win, the Seahawks clinched a playoff spot for the first time under Mike Macdonald and for the first time since 2022, and overtook the Rams in the race for the division title and first seed in the NFC.

The game was the first time in franchise history the Seahawks had won a game after trailing by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter. This was the fifth time a team had scored three two-point conversions in a game (and the first time a team had won doing so).^[4] It was also the first time a team with both more yards and fewer turnovers lost, and the first time a team had won after the other team scored a touchdown first in overtime, making it historic in multiple aspects.^[5] The game was praised for its competition and spectacle, being regarded as one of the best Thursday Night Football games of all time.^[6]

Coming off a loss in the divisional round to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, the Rams were theorized to be an average team heading into 2025.^[7] During the offseason, they would acquire wide receiver Davante Adams^[8] (who was not available in this game due to a hamstring injury)^[9] and former Seahawks defensive tackle Poona Ford in free agency.^[10] However, the Rams lost former Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp in free agency, who signed with the Seahawks in the offseason.^[11] The Seahawks were a 10–7 team the previous year, and barely missed the playoffs. Their offseason included trading longtime quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, receiver DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and releasing veteran receiver Tyler Lockett, who would sign with the Tennessee Titans.^[12][13][14] In corresponding moves, they signed free agent quarterback Sam Darnold, receiver Cooper Kupp, drafted Tory Horton with the 166th pick in the 2025 draft, and re-signed former Rams linebacker Ernest Jones IV.^[15][16][17]

This game served as a crucial showdown to determine the NFC West leader and the team with the best overall record in the NFC, a position held by the Rams before the kickoff. Entering the matchup, both teams shared identical 11–3 records. Earlier in the season, during Week 11, the Rams had hosted the Seahawks at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where they intercepted Darnold four times and won 21–19. The week prior, both teams had won their respective games: the Rams defeated the Detroit Lions to become the first team to clinch a playoff spot,^[18] while the Seahawks beat the Indianapolis Colts.^[19][20] This was also the first Thursday Night Football game between two teams with 11 or more wins, and this game was expected to be one of the best games of the whole year as a result.^[21]

The Rams started the game with the ball, but turned it over on downs on the opening drive, giving Seattle the ball at their own 39. After a few plays, Sam Darnold completed a screen pass to Kenneth Walker III, who took the ball 46 yards to the Rams 5-yard line to set up a Zach Charbonnet touchdown run, which gave the Seahawks a 7–0 lead. The Rams responded with a field goal to cut the lead to 7–3. The Seahawks then punted the ball on the next drive, and the Rams would kick another field goal to make it a one point game.

After another Seahawks punt, the Rams scored their first touchdown to take a 13–7 lead. Following this, Seattle managed one more drive before halftime, driving to the Rams 34 yard line, but Cooper Kupp, shortly after receiving a pass at the 31 yard line, fumbled into the end zone, essentially ending the half. When play resumed, the Seahawks received the kickoff, and Walker ran for a 55-yard touchdown that put Seattle up 14-13. The Rams quickly responded with a field goal to make it 16–14. On Seattle's next possession, Darnold threw an interception to Josh Wallace, who returned it to the 1-yard line, setting a Blake Corum touchdown run, making the lead 23–14.

After another punt by the Seahawks, the Rams scored with Matthew Stafford throwing a touchdown pass to Puka Nacua to make it a 30–14 lead for the Rams. Darnold drove the Seahawks to the Rams' 6-yard line, but was intercepted at the goal line on 3rd-and-goal by Kobie Turner for his second interception of the game. However, the Seahawks defense held on the next drive, forcing the Rams to punt, and Rashid Shaheed returned the punt 58 yards for a touchdown. The Seahawks opted to go for a two point conversion, and Darnold completed a pass to Kupp for two points, making it 30–22. The Seahawks defense stopped the Rams on the next drive, forcing the Rams to punt once again. The Seahawks offense would drive down the field once again, with Shaheed rushing for 31-yards, and Darnold throwing to tight end AJ Barner for a touchdown.^[22]

After Barner scored, the Seahawks elected to go for two points to tie the game and decided to throw for the conversion. After Darnold took the snap, he turned to his left and threw the ball toward Zach Charbonnet. However, before the ball could reach Charbonnet, linebacker Jared Verse attempted to knock it down, resulting in the ball bouncing off his helmet and landing in the end zone. Charbonnet, likely believing the play was dead, walked into the end zone and picked up the ball. The initial ruling was that it was an incomplete pass, but after further review, It was determined that the ball had been thrown backwards, which made it a live ball, and Charbonnet's act of picking up the ball in the endzone technically resulted in the conversion being successful, tying the game at 30–30.^[23]

Following the two-point try, both teams would punt before the Rams drove to Seattle's 29-yard line. However, they were forced to settle for the potential go-ahead 48-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis. Mevis missed, keeping the game tied. Both teams then punted before Darnold was sacked, sending the game to overtime. The Seahawks won the overtime coin toss and elected to kick. The Rams opened overtime with possession, and Matthew Stafford threw his second touchdown pass to Puka Nacua to give the Rams the lead.

After the kickoff, Darnold and the Seahawks engineered a drive down to the Rams' 4-yard line. On 1st-and-goal, Darnold threw his second touchdown pass of the night to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to make it a 1-point game. The Seahawks then chose to go for the win, and Darnold threw the game-winning 2-point conversion to tight end Eric Saubert, completing the comeback and sealing the win for the Seahawks.^[24]

The win for the Seahawks locked them into the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season, and for the first time in the Mike Macdonald era.^[25] Their 12–3 start was also their best start since their 2013 Super Bowl championship season. Due to the overtime rules being altered in the offseason, the Seahawks became the first team in NFL history to win a game in overtime following the other team scoring a touchdown on the first possession, as well as the first time that a team had won off a 2-point conversion.^[26] It was the first time in Seahawks history that they had won a game after trailing by 15 or more points in the fourth quarter (the team had a 0–172 record prior to this game).^[27] The Seahawks finished the year 14–3, a franchise record in wins, while the Rams finished 12–5 and the NFC's number 5 seed heading into the playoffs.^[28][29] After a win against the San Francisco 49ers in week 18, the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2020 and the NFC's number 1 seed for the first time since 2014.^[30][31]

Following the game, Rams players and coaches questioned the game-tying 2-point conversion, with Sean McVay saying, "Very interesting. Didn't get a clear explanation of everything that went on just because of some of the timing of it. I've never seen anything or never been a part of anything like that. And I've grown up around this game. I'm not making excuses. We don't do that. I don't believe in that. It doesn't move us forward, but we do want clarity and an understanding of the things that we can do to minimize that when we rejected the 2-point conversion."^[32] Following the game, Puka Nacua made a now-deleted Twitter post reading, "Can you say i was wrong. Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol."^[33] He was fined $25,000 by the NFL for his comments.^[34] Sam Darnold finished the game completing 22 of 34 passes for 270 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. After the game, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said of Darnold, "He’s the same guy every day, no matter the circumstance. He’s an ultimate competitor, he’s a phenomenal leader, and he just keeps fighting, just keeps plugging away. We weren’t worried about [him] one bit. That’s Sam.”^[35] The game was quoted as "one for the ages" and considered one of the best Thursday Night Football games in history.^[36] Two days after the loss, Rams special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn was fired.^[37]

Both teams faced each other once again in the NFC Championship Game, where the Seahawks defeated the Rams, 31–27, and advanced to Super Bowl LX, claiming their second Super Bowl title defeating the New England Patriots, 29–13.^[38][39][40]

• Rams–Seahawks rivalry
• List of nicknamed NFL games and plays