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Week 16 ended in agony for the Los Angeles Rams, who lost 38-37 in overtime to the Seattle Seahawks, becoming the first team since 1975 to hit four major stat milestones and still walk away with a loss. The Rams racked up over 400 yards of offense, allowed zero sacks, committed no turnovers, and recorded three takeaways, but still lost, ending a streak that had left such teams 79-0 before Thursday night.
The loss came after a game of dramatic swings. Los Angeles built a convincing 16-point fourth-quarter lead, controlling both sides of the ball. Matthew Stafford, the Rams’ MVP-contending quarterback, threw for a career-high 457 yards, including three touchdowns. Wide receiver Puka Nacua, their only healthy star, caught 12 passes for a career-high 225 yards and two scores. Overall, Los Angeles amassed 581 total yards of offense against one of the NFL’s top-five defenses.
Defensively, the Rams forced two interceptions and a fumble. Los Angeles’ two-headed rushing attack, led by Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, combined for 3.2 yards per carry on 37 attempts, with a long of nine yards. The team’s defense also made crucial stops, including an interception by Josh Wallace returned 56 yards to set up a touchdown. The Rams did a lot right, but a handful of mistakes gave the Seahawks life.
The Seahawks then managed a comeback that no one saw coming. With about 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles led 30-14. Rashid Shaheed started the rally with a 58-yard punt return touchdown, and Seattle converted a two-point attempt (via a screen pass that fluttered into the end zone) to make it 30-22.
The Rams failed to put together a scoring drive, and the Seahawks drove down the field again. Quarterback Sam Darnold found AJ Barner for a 26-yard touchdown, and Seattle converted another two-point play, tying the game at 30-30 and forcing overtime.
In overtime, Los Angeles struck first when Stafford connected with Nacua on a 41-yard catch-and-run touchdown, putting Los Angeles up 37-30. The Seahawks responded when Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown and then connected with Eric Saubert on the two-point conversion to clinch the win.
This was the second time this season the Rams blew up a double-digit lead over a playoff-caliber team on the road, the first being against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3.
With the defeat, Los Angeles dropped to 11-4, moving into the No. 5 seed in the NFC while losing control of the NFC West. Seattle now, 12-3, holds first place in the division and the No. 1 seed in the conference, securing a playoff berth with two games remaining.
The Rams will look to move past the setback in Week 17 when they meet the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, but the path to the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed is no longer in their hands.
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