Seahawks lead NFC after comeback OT thriller vs. Rams - ESPN

SEATTLE — On Thursday night, the Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 38-37 in overtime to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Through the first 15 weeks, the Seahawks looked like one of the best teams in the NFL while compiling an 11-3 record.

On Thursday night, with so much on the line in one of the biggest regular-season games in recent memory, they looked like a team of destiny. The story was all but written about how Seattle would have to take the long road in the playoffs, with two losses to the Rams essentially ending its hopes of winning the NFC West and claiming the conference's top seed, with the first-round bye and home-field advantage that comes with it.

But the Seahawks are now in the driver's seat for both after an utterly improbable comeback. Seattle erased a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, after the game was turning into a blowout following two Sam Darnold interceptions against the same team that picked off four of his passes last month at So-Fi Stadium.

The Seahawks got a special teams touchdown by Rashid Shaheed to kick off their comeback, which continued with Darnold throwing a touchdown late in regulation and another one in overtime.

Mike Macdonald went for two and the win, and Darnold delivered, hitting tight end Eric Saubert in the back of the end zone, capping a thrilling win and punching Seattle's ticket to the playoffs.

Before Thursday, the Seahawks were 0-155-0 all time when trailing by 16-plus points in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Research.

Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

Most surprising performance: The Seahawks entered Week 16 allowing the second-fewest points of any defense in the NFL. You rarely see Macdonald's unit get