NFC championship: Rams’ Super Bowl hopes shattered in loss to Seattle

SEATTLE — Maybe next year.

Maybe the opportunity to host the Super Bowl is now the necessary element for the Rams to play in it.

Two years ago they lost in the wild-card round. Last year in the divisional round.

On Sunday their season came to an end with a 31-27 defeat by the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game before 68,773 decibel-breaking fans at Lumen Field.

“I’m pretty numb,” coach Sean McVay said. “The finality of all of it. … I’m never really short on words and I am right now.”

Quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for three touchdowns, but for the first time in these playoffs the 17th-year pro could not engineer a comeback victory.

The Seahawks will play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The Rams will be at home pondering what might have been. And what they must do to play next year in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium, where they won Super Bowl LVI to cap the 2021 season.

“Tough pill to swallow at the moment,” Stafford said of the defeat.

When asked if he would be back next year, Stafford declined to answer.

The finalist for the NFL most valuable player award was still processing a defeat that left the team hurting.

None more, perhaps, than receiver Davante Adams.

Sunday’s defeat marked the fifth time the 12th-year pro played in the NFC championship game. And the fifth time he lost.

“Heartbreak,” said Adams, who caught a touchdown pass.

Rams wide receiver Davante Adams catches a touchdown pass in front of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen in the third quarter Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Running back Kyren Williams, who also caught a touchdown pass, sounded the same.

“It sucks that it has to end this way,” Williams said, “but I’m proud of every single man in this locker room.”

The Rams can only blame themselves for the road they had to travel.

They stumbled in the latter part of season and lost control of the No. 1 seed in the NFC to the Seahawks — and the home-field advantage that came with it.

On Sunday they were attempting to win their third playoff game on the road. They had defeated the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in the wild-card round in Charlotte, N.C., and then survived freezing conditions and the Chicago Bears in a 20-17 overtime victory at Soldier Field.

But Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold would not let them win again. The former USC star passed for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps as important, he avoided the errors that led to six interceptions in two regular-season games against the Rams.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold passes in front of Rams safety Quentin Lake in the first quarter of the NFC championship game on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“He’s continued to elevate his game,” Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner said. “He’s continued to learn from his mistakes.”

Stafford also played without major error: He completed 22 of 35 passes for 374 yards. Puka Nacua caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.

But the Seahawks “Dark Side” defense, led by former Rams linebacker Ernest Jones IV, came up big when needed.

And the Rams were unable to overcome a special teams miscue, a theme that plagued them throughout the season.

In the first half, punt returner Xavier Smith muffed a kick but recovered the ball. But early in the second half, with the Seahawks leading 17-13, Smith muffed another kick and the Seahawks recovered the ball.

On the very next play, Darnold fired a touchdown pass to Jake Bobo to give the Seahawks an 11-point lead.

“It’s tough because X-man has been so reliable,” McVay said, adding, “That was a tough one.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford slides ahead of Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe for a 13-yard gain in the second quarter Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

But McVay and Rams players did not blame Smith for the loss.

“We had our opportunities after that to grab hold of the game and make enough plays to win it,” Stafford said. “We just didn’t do it.”

The Rams pulled to within 31-27 on Stafford’s touchdown pass to Nacua late in the third quarter, and they got the ball back early in the fourth and drove to the Seahawks’ six-yard line. But a third-down pass to rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield and a fourth-down pass to rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson were broken up by cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

The Seahawks then ran 4½ minutes off the clock before the Rams got the ball at their seven-yard line with 25 seconds left, and after two passes to Nacua to reach midfield, time ran out on their season.

“This was a special year,” McVay said, “and it’s hard to fathom that it’s over.”

After losing in the snow last year in the divisional round against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the Rams appeared primed for a return to the Super Bowl, especially after adding Adams.

The Rams lost early-season games against the Eagles and the 49ers, in large part, because of kicking-game issues, which appeared to have been solved with the November addition of Harrison Mevis.

Going into Week 13, the Rams were 9-2 and on a six-game winning streak. They looked like the best team in the NFL and the favorite to win their second Super Bowl in five seasons.

But on Nov. 30 at Carolina, the Rams lost not only a game, but also the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

They lost three of their final six games and wound up as the No. 5 seed.

They won their first two playoff games, but could not pull out the one that would have sent them back to the Super Bowl.

Rams coach Sean McVay, right, and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald meet after the NFC championship game at Lumen Field on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

So now there are questions.

Will Stafford return for an 18th season? Will McVay lose several coaches from his staff? How soon will the team offer extensions to Nacua, Turner, edge rusher Byron Young and offensive lineman Steve Avila?

Those issues will be addressed in time.

After the noise dies down.

And the numbness fades.