SEATTLE — The Rams' finalist for the Associated Press Most Valuable Player award put on a performance worthy of that title in the NFC Championship Game. But the team fell just short of the ultimate prize: A Super Bowl appearance.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 22 of 35 pass attempts for 374 yards and three touchdowns against the Seahawks. He even scrambled (for just the third time this year) for a crucial fourth-down conversion in the final quarter. But a failed fourth down on that same drive allowed Seattle to drain most of the remaining clock, and the Rams fell 31-27 in heartbreaking fashion.
After the game, Stafford was still trying to process the heartbreak, so much so that he couldn't yet reflect on his career year.
"I can't generalize six months of my life ten minutes after a loss," he said. "So, appreciate the guys in the locker room a whole hell of a lot. Everybody that helped me and helped our team be as successful as we were this year."
Stafford made some truly absurd throws, including seven with a completion probability under 50%, according to Next Gen Stats. That is calculated using a model that takes into account quarterback movement, throw distance, receiver separation and more.
The first pass that really ignited Stafford's night went to wide receiver Puka Nacua midway through the second quarter. After a play-action fake, Stafford fired a strike between three defenders in zone coverage, and it hit Nacua in-stride for a 21-yard gain.
His next two pass attempts were completions to Nacua for seven yards and then running back Kyren Williams on a free release through the A gap for a nine-yard score. From that point on, Stafford was cooking with gas.
"He was phenomenal," said wide receiver Puka Nacua. "He always does a great job of being able to make plays for us. I think in the moments that we needed, he was able to read the defense and put the ball where it needed to be."
According to the Associated Press' Josh Dubow, Stafford is the first quarterback ever to throw for 350-plus yards, three-plus touchdowns and have zero turnovers, and lose a playoff start.
Stafford thrived on play-action passes, completing nine of 11 attempts for 224 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. That's an NFL season-high in play-action passing yards.
The score came in the form of a 34-yard dime to Nacua, who hauled in a back-shoulder toss and rolled into the front pylon. That play capitalized on a Seattle unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to get Los Angeles back in the game, and Stafford targeted the perpetrator, cornerback Riq Woolen, to do so.
However, the 31-27 score that resulted from that touchdown catch ended up being the final. Stafford gave everything he had on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to punch a ticket to the Super Bowl. After the game, emotions were running high, and Stafford lamented the Rams' missed opportunities.
"It was a battle the whole game," Stafford said. "It wasn't like we were all just waiting for one play here or there. There was a million plays in a football game that can turn the tide and we had our opportunities, didn't make them."
Still, he was slinging the rock with pin-point accuracy until the final whistle. On the last play of the game, a frozen rope to Nacua went for 21 yards, but his knee touched the green before the white, denying L.A. a last-stitch Hail Mary attempt and officially ending their season.
The 37-year-old quarterback declined to discuss his future after the game, but Rams head coach Sean McVay certainly thinks he's got plenty left in the tank.
"I mean, he's the MVP of the league," said head coach Sean McVay postgame "... I got respect for everybody else, but this guy played at a level that's just different."
