Sunday Rundown: Key takeaways from conference title games
Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.
Darnold's career night
Consider those demons exorcised.
For anyone not quite ready to buy in on Sam Darnold as a championship-caliber quarterback, this matchup was always going to be the measuring stick. The Rams defense had given him fits in three straight meetings dating back to last year's playoffs when nine sacks and a pair of turnovers marked a tragic end to his Vikings career. This year, it was six interceptions across two games in the regular season. Chris Shula seemed to have his number.
Bouncing back to light up the Rams in the biggest game of his career should effectively dispel both those narratives and any others that have followed him since a disastrous tenure with the Jets. Darnold was locked in, completing 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns - all of which came under pressure. His 0.47 EPA/dropback, according to TruMedia, marks the best game of any quarterback in the playoffs so far this season.
Darnold has plenty of support in the form of a creative play-caller, a superstar receiver, and one of the best defenses in football. The Seahawks indeed deserve credit for creating a situation where a quarterback can be successful. But make no mistake: this team isn't sniffing a Super Bowl without Darnold doing what he's done to make all those who questioned Seattle's offseason quarterback change (*raises hand*) look silly.
And meeting New England on football's biggest stage now provides him with an opportunity to cap off the redemption arc in the most fitting way imaginable. The Patriots, you may recall, were the opponent for his viral "seeing ghosts" moment with the Jets back in 2019.
Was that their chance?
The Rams coming up short in Seattle marks a devastating end to what could have been a magical playoff run. Most fan bases can get over this kind of letdown by looking ahead and buying in on the possibility of building off such a promising run. And with Sean McVay at the helm, it's probably easy to convince yourself that there will be more such opportunities down the road. Next year, though? Well, that depends.
Matthew Stafford reportedly intends to play again in 2026, so we probably don't have to spend much time entertaining the possibility of a retirement. But can the Rams really count on another MVP-type season from a quarterback who turns 38 in February? And as they found out after sidestepping a worrying preseason back issue, injuries only become more of a concern with age.
And what about Davante Adams? The future Hall of Fame receiver was the perfect addition opposite Puka Nacua. While no longer the type of player that commands extreme volume, his ability to eat up one-on-one matchups in the red zone was a major factor in Stafford's 46-touchdown season. Does he take a step back during a 2026 campaign in which he'll turn 34?
And then there's the potential brain drain on the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and defensive coordinator Chris Shula are all candidates for head coaching jobs around the league. Does either side of the ball take a step back in the event some of those key assistants have to be replaced?
I certainly wouldn't bet against one of the best organizations in the sport finding a way to be right back here next year. But not getting it done this season when so many things went right has to sting particularly hard. It might've been the best chance this group is going to get for the forseeable future.
Another special teams blunder
The special teams battle was one of several matchups I thought might decide this game. More specifically, I was focusing in on the Rams needing to contain Rashid Shaheed. They did manage to do so, but that didn't stop their kicking unit from finding other ways to make costly errors.
The Rams had a chance to take an early third-quarter lead after getting a stop to open the second half, but Xavier Smith tripped as he retreated to field a punt from Michael Dickson. The ball bounced off his shoulder as he fell to the ground, and the Seahawks were able to recover. Darnold wasted no time making the Rams pay, finding Jake Bobo for a 17-yard score to make it a 24-13 game on the very next snap.
Smith's blunder can't be chalked up to coaching - this was simply a bad-luck play at the worst possible time. But failures in the kicking game were a running theme all year long for Los Angeles. McVay was forced to make a change at coordinator with two games left in the regular season, as his team sat dead last in special teams EPA after a punt-return score from Shaheed sparked Seattle's comeback win in Week 16.
The Rams sat atop my power rankings for seven straight weeks over the second half of the season because at the time, I saw them as the most complete team in football. As it turns out, that label was always conveniently overlooking this critical third phase of the game. With the Seahawks having no such issues in that regard, ranking second in special teams EPA during the regular season, it should now be clear who the real No. 1 was all along.
Kubiak dazzles
I've had a hard time trying to figure out what to make of Klint Kubiak as a head coaching candidate this year. The hype always made sense - an offensive breakout is what pushed the Seahawks over the top. Only two teams had a higher explosive pass rate than Seattle's 17.3% during the regular season.
But there were some rough patches mixed in there, including with a run game that didn't quite hit its stride until the stretch run. I couldn't help but think this may be the latest example of a hotshot offensive coordinator getting bumped to the front of the line a little too quickly. After watching Kubiak put on a clinic against the Rams, I hereby retract any such concerns.
While it certainly helps to have a wideout like Jaxon Smith-Njigba to serve as the centerpiece of the passing game, Kubiak just has so many ways to attack defenses and create favorable matchups for his playmakers. Smith-Njigba was the star of the show Sunday night, racking up 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, but don't overlook the way Kenneth Walker was used out of the backfield. The Seahawks running back finished the night with 49 yards on four catches, three of which went for first downs.
Kubiak figures to be a popular man during the upcoming bye week, with several teams still looking to fill head coaching vacancies. The Seahawks will be happy to see him get that opportunity to lead a team of his own if he can help them finish the job, but you can bet they'll be doing everything they can to convince him to stick around just one more year. Mike Macdonald's bold move to make a change after one year of Ryan Grubb has yielded spectacular results.
Maye's legs make the difference
The Patriots' passing attack couldn't find any sort of rhythm for the third time in as many weeks. A struggling offensive line was once again the primary factor on that front, but the stadium turning into a snow globe didn't help. Drake Maye still found a way, though. In the end, his do-it-all skill set was the difference in New England advancing to Super Bowl LX.
Maye had the perfect answer for a collapsing pocket against the Broncos, tallying 57 yards on three scrambles. Accounting for situational factors - all three of those runs went for first downs - that works out to 6.37 scramble EPA. The list of playoff performers in that territory over the last 12 years makes for some pretty exclusive company.
And the scramble numbers don't even include the two game-changing plays Maye made on designed runs: a six-yard score late in the second quarter and a seven-yard dash on a naked boot to seal the win late in the fourth. This is exactly why the NFL has been trending toward big-time athletes at the quarterback position. An elite downfield passer also being able to offer this kind of rushing upside is a true game-changer.
The Patriots have to shore up their pass protection if the offense is going to get back on track in a tough matchup with the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Will Campbell struggling since his return from a knee injury has been a critical factor in Maye taking five sacks in each of New England's three playoff games. But this team's ability to overcome any such issues is a truly special quality.
Vrabel's defense does it again
New England's defense certainly held its own throughout the regular season, but Maye lighting it up at the helm of a Josh McDaniels offense was the driving force behind this incredible one-year turnaround. Those roles have effectively been reversed in the postseason.
Some will shrug off this latest defensive performance as a product of playing a backup quarterback in the snow. While it's true that the final score may not have looked quite as sparkling under different circumstances, the reality is that this defense has now dominated three straight opponents. Personnel is one part of the equation, with a healthy Milton Williams giving New England a game-breaker in the middle, but it's also a matter of the coaching staff consistently looking to attack in these do-or-die games.
The Patriots entered this week with a 40.6% blitz rate in the playoffs, up from 27.2% in the regular season. That unit was once again creating chaos in the passing game Sunday, getting to Stidham for three sacks and eight quarterback hits. The latter matches a season-worst total for a Broncos offense that has done well to limit pressure and negative plays all year.
New England will have its hands full on defense in the Super Bowl, as the Seahawks are far more difficult to contain than the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos. Considering the way that unit has elevated its game over the last three weeks, though, it shouldn't come as a surprise if Mike Vrabel's unit is once again up to the task.
Big mistake sinks Stidham
Jarrett Stidham seemed like he was well on his way to shocking the world. After shaking off some early jitters, the Broncos quarterback ignited the home crowd by torching New England's defense with a 52-yard strike to Marvin Mims. Two plays later, he rolled out to find Courtland Sutton in the end zone to give Denver a 7-0 lead. The way the Broncos defense was swarming, it didn't feel like he'd need many more points, so long as he could avoid major mistakes.
Unfortunately for Denver, the game-changing blunder came when he tried to do too much on a critical third down before halftime. Stidham held the ball too long while drifting back in the pocket and took a big hit on the eventual pass attempt. The contact resulted in a backward pass, officially ruled a fumble recovered by New England on the Broncos' 12-yard line. The Patriots took advantage, tying things up two plays later. The Broncos didn't score again.
Perhaps this ends up being a different game if Sean Payton opts to take the field goal on a failed fourth down to make it a 10-point game midway through the second quarter. There was certainly an argument to take the points in a game like this. Or maybe Stidham would've had easier opportunities to redeem himself if the weather didn't take a turn for the worst. But the second-half numbers aren't conducive to winning either way: Stidham completed just 5 of 10 passes for 10 yards and a late interception that all but sealed the loss.
The Broncos tapping out of the playoffs after losing their starting quarterback in the final minutes of a divisional-round victory will be a bitter pill to swallow. While it's no guarantee that the final result would have been any different with Bo Nix, it's possible that his scrambling skills could have matched the situational impact we saw from Maye. Either way, it was a season to remember for Denver. And with Russell Wilson's contract finally off the books in 2026, this may only be the beginning of an extended window to compete for a Super Bowl.
Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.