Rams lose to Seahawks, fall short in bid for first Super Bowl trip since Feb. 2022

SEATTLE (KTTV) - The Los Angeles Rams will not be going to their first Super Bowl since Feb. 2022.

The Rams fell to the Seattle Seahawks 31-27 in Sunday's NFC championship game.

Prior to Sunday's heartbreaker, the Rams were hoping to face the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl LIII rematch. The Pats punched their ticket to the big game after beating the Denver Broncos 10-7 in the AFC championship game.

Had the Rams won on Sunday, it would have been the team's sixth trip to the Super Bowl – with their last appearance being at home at SoFi Stadium on February 2022.

Did Cooper Kupp catch the ball?

Sunday's NFC title game didn't come without controversy in the fourth quarter, as Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp hauled in a seven-yard pass from quarterback Sam Darnold that left fans questioning if that was, in fact, a catch.

While Kupp, a former Ram and former Super Bowl LVI MVP, appeared to have briefly caught the ball, the ball flew out of his hands once he landed on his back, and Rams defenders ran up and picked up the dropped ball. That play was eventually ruled a catch and the Seahawks were awarded a first down.

While Seattle didn't score on that particular drive, the Seahawks ultimately put together a 4-minute drive to cut down precious time that Matthew Stafford and the Rams needed to put together a fourth-quarter comeback bid.

Scoring Summary

Seattle drew first blood after running back Kenneth Walker III punched in a 2-yard run to help give the Seahawks a 7-0 lead following a made PAT. The Rams responded by chipping away the Seahawks' lead with two field goals to cut the deficit to 10-6.

Los Angeles then took the lead 13-10 after a 14-play, 87-yard drive that ended with a Matthew Stafford 9-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Williams.

However, the lead didn't last long as the Seahawks responded with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba hauling in a 14-yard touchdown pass from former USC Trojan Sam Darnold to take back the lead at 17-13.

In the third quarter, the Seahawks took advantage of a muffed punt by Rams returner Xavier Smith and scored on a Jake Bobo 17-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to extend the lead to 24-13. The Rams immediately responded by a quick 6-play, 75-yard drive to cut the deficit to 24-20.

Kupp hauled in a 13-yard touchdown grab to extend the lead for his new team, the Seahawks, to 31-20. The Rams responded the following drive by cashing in on a Seahawks taunting penalty on 4th-and-12 to cut the deficit to 31-27. That score came via a 34-yard touchdown catch from Puka Nacua, who burned Seahawks' Riq Woolen, the defensive back who got flagged for taunting in the previous play.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Rams punched their ticket to Sunday's NFC title game after beating the Chicago Bears 20-17 in the divisional round. Prior to that, the Rams outlasted the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in the wild-card round.

The Seahawks clinched homefield advantage and a first-round bye in the playoffs after finishing the 2025 regular season with a 14-3 record, two games better than the Rams. Seattle got a spot in the NFC championship game after beating the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 in the divisional round.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.