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Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald’s instant reaction to insane comeback win over Rams
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- Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald’s instant reaction to insane comeback win over Rams
Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald's instant reaction to insane comeback win over Rams appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Seattle Seahawks entered Thursday's meeting with the Los Angeles Rams with plenty to prove, at least as far as the public was concerned. Despite winning games, Seattle had not beaten a team currently in the playoff picture in almost two months. Needless to say, there were questions about how Sam Darnold and company would perform against marquee competition in a prime-time matchup. For a good chunk of the night, those concerns were once again validated.
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Until they weren't. Trailing 30-14 with a little over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks flexed their bulging defensive muscles, emerging special teams weapon Rashid Shaheed flipped momentum with a 58-yard punt return touchdown, the team benefited from unfathomable luck and Darnold made some clutch throws. Add it all up, and you have a 38-37 overtime triumph over the Rams, also known as Seattle's biggest win in years.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is extremely proud of his squad , and he is extremely appreciative of the support the home crowd displayed during the stellar comeback.
"Holy smokes, what a great football game," he said during the postgame press conference, per Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune. "First of all, an incredibly electric atmosphere, just an all-time great showing by our 12s. Shout out to all our people… And just talking about our football team, {I'm} just so proud of our group. This is who we are.
"The relentlessness is there, the character of this team is there. And they have each other's backs in all three phases. All that stuff we've been talking about since we walked into the door is real… We're going to enjoy the heck out of this one, get some rest this weekend and get back at it."
Did the Seahawks just break through?
Seattle's mid-game resurgence felt like a cliche moment in a sports movie, the one where the team is getting pummeled before the coach inspires his players to overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds. That is how unlikely a Seattle victory was in this NFC West showdown. Sam Darnold threw two brutal interceptions, Cooper Kupp made a devastating fumble against his former team and the injury-hampered secondary struggled to contain MVP contender Matthew Stafford .
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Redemption was obtained when it mattered most, however. Darnold exhibited tremendous poise following his costly gaffes, finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the back of the end zone for a four-yard touchdown in OT, and then solidifying the improbable victory by connecting with tight end Eric Saubert on the two-point conversion. Kupp set everything in motion after making a spectacular 21-yard catch along the sidelines. The Seahawks did not just beat the Rams. They unloaded their baggage.
Seattle (12-3) should be moving with great confidence the rest of the way. Macdonald's guys seized control of the division and No. 1 seed in the NFC, taking another step closer toward the Lombardi Trophy. Though, if the Seahawks encounter more obstacles down the road, they can draw inspiration from this valiant effort.
Related: Seahawks' Jaxon Smith-Njigba heaps praise on 'big-time player' Rasheed Shaheed
