The Seattle Seahawks have defeated the Los Angeles Rams in a high-scoring shootout to arrange a Tremendous Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots.
In Seattle, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold outduelled Rams counterpart Matthew Stafford in a 31-27 thriller on Sunday to clinch the NFC championship, which doubles as an NFL playoffs semifinal.
The victory sends Seattle right into a repeat of their epic 2015 Tremendous Bowl in opposition to the Patriots, who prevailed in a blizzard-hit 10-7 AFC championship victory over the Denver Broncos earlier on Sunday.
The Seahawks’ win marked the most recent milestone in what has been a fairytale marketing campaign for Darnold, who has loved a renaissance with Seattle this season after a rocky begin to his profession.
“It’s wonderful to have the ability to do that with these guys on this locker room, with this teaching employees – it means the world to me,” mentioned Darnold, who performed for 4 totally different golf equipment earlier than arriving in Seattle final yr.
The 28-year-old completed Sunday’s traditional with three touchdowns, 346 passing yards and no interceptions.
Darnold’s gripping slugfest with Stafford was successfully tilted in Seattle’s favour when a late Rams drive to the Seahawks’ six-yard line got here away with nothing.
“We got here right here with expectations to win,” Rams coach Sean McVay mentioned afterwards.
“It was an excellent back-and-forth sport by two nice groups, however a few essential errors ended up costing us … I’m by no means actually quick on phrases, however I’m proper now. It’s powerful, however that is sports activities, and also you’ve acquired to have the ability to cope with it.”
Seattle, in the meantime, had been left waiting for a Tremendous Bowl conflict with the Patriots in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 11 years after dropping to New England within the NFL showpiece in 2015 through the Tom Brady period.
Patriots tame Broncos within the blizzard
The Patriots are concentrating on a file seventh Tremendous Bowl following their gritty, low-scoring victory in Colorado.
The AFC title sport, which additionally serves as a semifinal playoff sport, performed out in brutal circumstances, with the sector regularly blanketed in snow as a storm swept over the venue.
New England quarterback Drake Maye held agency after a shaky begin, main the Patriots upfield for the decisive area objective after speeding for a first-half landing.
“We battled the weather,” mentioned Maye.
“[In] these circumstances, it’s not nice throwing the soccer. However hey, we do what we have to do … We’re off to the Tremendous Bowl. Let’s go!”
Re-emergence after the Tom Brady period
The win cements a outstanding resurgence for the Patriots.
After the dominant period of the Brady dynasty that yielded six Tremendous Bowl titles, New England have endured a painful rebuild.
However beneath new head coach Mike Vrabel, they had been a revelation this season, topping the powerful AFC East for the primary time since 2019.
“Simply so completely happy for Mike Vrabel, former teammate of mine,” mentioned Brady, now working as a commentator for Fox TV.
“Went to New England, nobody was fairly positive how they’d do [after] back-to-back 4-and-13 seasons, and so they flip it right into a highway AFC victory in Denver. I understand how arduous that’s.”
The Patriots, who already boasted probably the most Tremendous Bowl appearances with 11, will now have their twelfth exhibiting on American soccer’s largest stage, and an opportunity to vie for a file seventh Lombardi trophy.
Vrabel, who received three Tremendous Bowls taking part in alongside Brady for the Patriots, can be the primary individual to win the game’s final prize as a participant and coach for a similar franchise.
“I received’t win it – it’ll be the gamers that may win the sport, I promise you,” mentioned Vrabel.
