For the last three years, the Seattle Seahawks and the 12th Man have had to suffer through watching a divisional rival compete for conference supremacy in the NFC Championship. Starting in 2021, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams duked it out before the Rams eventually claimed a conference title, then eventually a Lombardi two weeks later. The 49ers would go on to play in the next two NFC Championship games, even winning last year.
Now, mercifully, this streak has ended with the Los Angeles Rams falling 28-22 in the Divisional Round against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams did make it a fight, and threatened to continue this streak late. Philly and LA were tied at 13-13 early in the third quarter, and it was only a 16-15 Eagles lead going into the fourth.
Philadelphia did manage to create some separation between them and the Rams midway through the fourth, building a 28-15 lead, but it was not enough to put a pesky Rams squad away. LA pulled within 28-22 and forced the Eagles to go three-and-out.
The Rams marched 65 yards in only 10 plays to get all the way to Philadelphia’s 13-yard line, threatening to steal a win away from the Eagles. Fortunately, defensive lineman Jalen Carter (a player the 12th Man desperately wanted Seattle to draft before the Seahawks took Devon Witherspoon) sacked Matthew Stafford, and on the next play Stafford’s pass on fourth down fell incomplete icing the Rams’ defeat.
Now, the 12th Man can breathe easy next weekend during the conference championships, as no hated rivals will be on the verge of representing the conference in the Super Bowl this year.
