SEATTLE — Needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Seahawks did just enough Sunday to win the regular-season finale at Lumen Field against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Seahawks benefitted late in the fourth quarter from a Geno Smith scramble and a subsequent personal foul on Jalen Ramsey that put the Seahawks into scoring position in the final minute. However, Jason Myers missed a field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
An impressive interception by Quandre Diggs got Seattle the ball back after a rough first possession in overtime.
A Jason Myers field goal gave the Seahawks a season sweep over the defending Super Bowl champion Rams and kept the team's postseason hopes alive. It now all comes down to Sunday night's game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Here are three takeaways from the Seahawks' 19-16 victory:
Geno Smith ends on sour note
It remains a career season for the Seahawks' quarterback, but Smith did not punctuate his Pro Bowl 2022 campaign strongly in Sunday's regular-season finale.
Smith finished 19-of-31 passing for 213 yards and one touchdown and two costly interceptions, both thrown to Jalen Ramsey. Geno did set a franchise record for passing yards in a season, but had one more game to do it than Russell Wilson had in 2016.
He ultimately did enough to set Myers up for a game-winning field goal, and the totality of his season is absolutely worthy of all the praise it has gotten.
He stands to get a substantial pay raise this offseason, but whether that will be from the Seahawks or another QB-hungry team is one of the main storylines going into free agency.
Wagner narrowly misses out on revenge
Bobby Wagner wasn't shy this offseason about his frustration with the Seahawks in the wake of his release after a decade in Seattle.
In the first matchup of the season between these teams, Wagner had an interception and 2 sacks.
In Sunday's clash, Wagner had six tackles including one for loss. He and the Rams defense held Smith to one of his worst games, but the Seahawks ultimately came out on top, and remain alive in the NFC playoff hunt.
Promising pass rush
Mayfield was under pressure constantly Sunday, taking 5 sacks from the Seahawks' defense.
Bruce Irvin, in particular, ended up with 1.5 sacks as he punctuated a strong season in his third tenure with the organization.
Rookies Boye Mafe and Coby Bryant also picked up sacks, and along with Tariq Woolen give Seattle a bright future on defense.