Thursday Night Football descended into chaos as the Seattle Seahawks tied the Los Angeles Rams on one of the most bizarre plays.
The Seahawks clinched a dramatic 38-37 victory in a thrilling overtime matchup against the Rams to leapfrog Los Angeles and steal the top spot in the NFC West.
However, the theatrics came earlier in the game when, during the fourth quarter, the Seahawks tied the score in chaotic scenes.
Seattle scored a touchdown to claw the score to 30-28 with 6:23 of regulation left and went for the two-point conversion in an attempt to bring themselves level with their divisional rivals.
Yet, initially it appeared that Mike Macdonald’s had failed to seal the crucial two points when Jared Verse tipped Sam Darnold’s pass that fell to the ground. The attempt was ruled incomplete on the field and the conversion failed.
However, in a twist of events, as the Seahawks were lined up to kick off, replay review concluded that Darnold had attempted a backward pass.
Jared Verse tipped Sam Darnold’s pass on the Seahawks’ two-point conversion attempt
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet recovered the loose ball in the end zone
It was determined that Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet recovered the loose ball in the end zone when he picked it up before the whistle had blown, and therefore counted as a two-point conversion.
‘Very interesting,’ Rams head coach Sean McVay said after the Rams lost. ‘Didn’t get a clear explanation of everything that went on just because of some of the timing of it.
‘I’ve never seen anything or never been a part of anything like that. And I’ve grown up around this game. I’m not making excuses. We don’t do that. I don’t believe in that. It doesn’t move us forward, but we do want clarity and an understanding of the things that we can do to minimize that when we rejected the 2-point conversion.’
The Rams locker room also questioned the ruling with wide receiver Puka Nacua tweeted minutes after the game ended: ‘Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol.’
When asked what he was referencing in his tweet, Nacua added: ‘Just the opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of. Some of the moments that we put in the officials’ hands just felt like we could have executed to not put ourselves in those situations.’
Fans were left stunned by the play as many took to social media to brand it ‘magic’ or ‘unbelievable.’
‘That wasn’t a play it was a magic trick,’ claimed one.
‘He just picked up that ball to hand to the ref. 2 points for being nice and helpful for the refs,’ another stunned viewer posted, referring to Charbonnet.
Rams head coach Sean McVay appeared baffle at the ruling following his team’s defeat
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba scores a touchdown during overtime
‘seahawks magic just saved that game,’ said a third, while a fourth added: ‘That’s next level chaotic energy.’
The Seahawks went on to win the game 38-37 in overtime thanks to yet another two-point conversion.
After Matthew Stafford found Nacua for a touchdown to take the lead in overtime, Darnold led the Seahawks on a nine-play charge down the field before connecting with Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the endzone.
But Macdonald was in no mood to play for a tie and entrusted his quarterback to once again to convert a two-point attempt to win it for Seattle.
Darnold did just that, hitting a wide-open Eric Saubert for the 2-point conversion, and the Seahawks overcame a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Rams 38-37 on Thursday night for a one-game lead in the NFC West.
‘It was something we talked about throughout the season and particularly for this game because of the playoff situation,’ Macdonald said. ‘You know, you play for the tie and lock up a playoff seat, but I just felt great about our play and I trusted our guys.’
The Seahawks became the first NFL team to win on an overtime two-point conversion.