Smart trades can keep the good teams on top, and dumb trades can keep the bad teams on the bottom, and a trade the Rams and Falcons made on draft day is looking like a good example of that.
While they were on the clock on draft day, the Rams agreed to send their first-round pick to the Falcons in a trade that included the Falcons’ 2026 first-round pick going to the Rams. The Falcons wanted defensive end James Pearce badly enough that they were willing to give up a lot to get the Rams’ first-round pick, No. 26 overall, and draft Pearce.
Perhaps at the time, the Falcons thought Pearce could be the last piece of the puzzle as they constructed a playoff team. But that hasn’t happened. Pearce has been a part-time player while recording 2.5 sacks this season, and the Falcons are 3-7 and nowhere near playoff contention.
In fact, the Falcons appear to be headed for a Top 10 pick. Which means the Rams are likely to have a Top 10 pick, even though they’re Super Bowl contenders after improving to 8-2 with Sunday’s win over the Seahawks.
Regardless of what kind of player Pearce becomes, the Rams scored when they decided to trade away a 2025 pick for what was likely to be a higher pick in 2026. That trade is likely to land the Rams one of the best players in next year’s draft.
Quarterback Sam Darnold had his worst game as a member of the Seahawks on Sunday, with zero touchdown passes and four interceptions in a 21-19 loss to the Rams.
After the final gun, Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV made it clear that he does not want to hear any criticism of Darnold.
“Sam’s been balling,” Jones said after the game, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “If we want to try to define Sam by this game, Sam’s had us in every fucking game. So for him to sit there and say, ‘That’s my fault,’ no it’s not. It was plays that defensively we could have made . . . opportunities where we could have gotten better stops. It’s football, man. He’s our quarterback. We’ve got his back, and if you’ve got anything to say, quite frankly, fuck you.”
Even with an off night from Darnold, the Seahawks still had a chance to win the game. And it’s good to see Jones defending his quarterback after a rough game.
Still, a nagging question remains. Darnold has been performing at a high level for two seasons. When the stakes are the highest, and the lights are the brightest, he has not delivered. It started with a Week 18 showdown with the Lions for the No. 1 seed, and it continued eight days later in a playoff loss to the Rams.
It happened again on Sunday against the Rams, when Seattle had a chance to take sole possession of the NFC West.
The next three games (at Titans, Vikings, at Falcons) are winnable. Then comes a Week 15 showdown with the Colts followed by a Thursday night rematch with the Rams. Those two games, four days apart, will be Darnold’s next two opportunities to reverse the narrative that, in big games, the chariot morphs into a pumpkin.
While he has come a long way from seeing ghosts, he still has demons to conquer. Time will tell whether he can.
The Seahawks nearly pulled off a stunning comeback against the Rams.
But in the end, Seattle kicker Jason Myers’ 61-yard field goal attempt with one second remaining sailed short and wide right, giving Los Angeles a 21-19 victory.
The big win over the NFC West rival gave the Rams sole possession of first place in the division.
Both defenses played well on Sunday, with Los Angeles picking up four interceptions off quarterback Sam Darnold. While the Rams scored two touchdowns off of those takeaways, they also didn’t notch a first down off of two of Darnold’s picks.
Seattle’s defense also kept the club in the game by forcing several drives to end with zero to two first downs.
But one of the big determining factors was red-zone efficiency. The Seahawks finished 1-of-4 in the category, and just 1-of-2 on goal-to-go situations. Jason Myers hit field goals of 57, 30, 22, and 29 yards before Kenneth Walker scored the Seahawks’ first touchdown with 2:23 left in the contest.
Armed with three timeouts and the two-minute warning, the Seahawks were able to get the ball back after a Rams punt with one timeout and 1:41 left on the clock. But Ethan Evans’ punt took a perfect L.A. bounce, going out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
The Seahawks took a lot of time to get down the field, holding on to their one timeout until Darnold connected with Rashid Shaheed with one second left on the clock at the L.A. 43.
From there, Myers’ kick was no good.
The Rams had scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, first on a Kyren Williams 1-yard, fourth-down play to capitalize on Darnold’s first interception. Then Davante Adams caught the 1000th pass of his career for a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 14-3.
But that was it for the Rams until Darnold’s third interception, which led to Colby Parkinson’s 6-yard touchdown to give L.A. a 21-12 lead with 14:15 left in the fourth quarter.
Stafford finished the game 15-of-28 for 130 yards with two touchdowns. Williams had 12 carries for 91 yards, including a 34-yard scamper. Puka Nacua caught seven passes for 75 yards and had two carries for 18 yards.
On the other side, Darnold was 29-of-44 for 279 yards with no touchdowns and four picks. Kenneth Walker led with 67 yards on 16 carries with a TD. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had, for his standards, a pedestrian nine catches for 105 yards. In his return to Los Angeles, Cooper Kupp finished with just three receptions for 23 yards.
Now at 8-2, the Rams will host a significant NFC matchup with the Buccaneers in Week 12. If the Lions defeat the Eagles on Sunday night, Los Angeles will hold the No. 1 seed in the conference.
The 7-3 Seahawks will be on the road to face the 1-9 Titans next Sunday.
The Rams had struggled to get anything going offensively since scoring their second touchdown in the first quarter.
But another interception from Sam Darnold helped Los Angeles extend its lead over Seattle.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford hit former Seahawk Colby Parkinson with a 6-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-12, L.A., with 14:15 left in the contest.
Darnold’s third pick was the second of the game by Kam Kinchens, who returned it 22 yards down to Seattle’s 25-yard line.
Running back Kyren Williams moved the chains with a 10-yard run on third-and-1 from Seattle’s 16. On the next play, Stafford rolled to his right to find Parkinson, who picked his way through the defense to make it to the end zone for a score.
Darnold had previously thrown an interception in the second half, but Seattle got the ball right back after Puka Nacua lost a fumble for the first time in his career.
Los Angeles safety Quentin Lake has been ruled out with an elbow injury. Receiver Xavier Smith has been ruled out with a concussion.
Additionally, Rams tight end Tyler Higbee is questionable to return with an ankle injury.
The Rams scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter and still have a 14-9 lead at halftime.
Los Angeles was not able to score on its first possession, with a pass on fourth-and-1 inside the 10-yard line falling incomplete. But after a Sam Darnold interception, Kyren Williams converted on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to give Los Angeles a 7-0 lead.
Following a 57-yard field goal by Jason Myers, Davante Adams’ 1000th career catch was a 1-yard touchdown, giving the Rams a 14-3 advantage.
That play also made Adams just the second player to catch at least 10 TDs in a season for three different teams, joining Brandon Marshall.
But the Rams largely stalled offensively after those drives, with the club finishing the first half 1-of-5 on third down. Stafford was 7-of-13 passing for 50 yards with a touchdown. Williams had six carries for 76 yards with a TD, including a 34-yard run.
Darnold’s interception was his seventh of the season, and gave him one in each of Seattle’s last four games, and five out of the last six. He ended the first half 10-of-16 for 92 yards.
Kenneth Walker had six carries for 37 yards, including a 25-yard run — which was the longest rush the Rams have surrendered this year. The previous long was 13 yards.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has five receptions for 63 yards, including an impressive one-handed catch along the sideline that moved the chains.
Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight has been diagnosed with a concussion and will not return.
The Seahawks, who scored a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, will have the ball again to start the second half. Myers now has the all-time lead in franchise history with 813 points.
