Seahawks 31, Rams 27
MIKE MACDONALD: I don't really know what to say. I'm incredibly proud of our team. I'm happy for the 12s, for our city.
What an atmosphere. Just to be able to take it in after and understand what our team has been able to do up to this point and how they've done it is just -- we're just blessed. Just really blessed that we got a heck of a group and a great organization and owner and the best fans.
So it's humbling, too, and just pretty awesome. I don't know. I'm kind of speechless. Just really proud of our guys. It was a team win. Like we didn't play our best game on defense, but we made enough plays to win.
Got to give them a lot of credit. They had a great game plan; did some things we weren't ready for. We had to adjust again. Par for the courses for their offense. It's a team win. Special teams had to pick it up. The drive at the end on offense was just tremendous. I thought Klint called a great play and then you can't talk about the game without talking about our quarterback.
He just shut a lot of people up tonight, so really happy for him.
Q. What do you think got you (indiscernible) what it took?
MIKE MACDONALD: I don't know if anybody could hear me afterward, but the power the of 12 is one is real. Just synergy, people buying in and doing it together. We don't have a bunch of superstars and all that. Just a really good football team that is tough and connected and didn't blink and played the whole game.
Q. You alluded to it there, but there was a narrative after earlier this season about whether or not Sam is a big game quarterback. What do you think he showed today?
MIKE MACDONALD: I mean, 300-something yards, three touchdowns, no picks. Every time they went and scored he came back, made some big time throws on third down, two minute drive, four minute drive.
Guy barely practiced all week. Just really happy for him. He deserves it. Just been a rock for us the whole year, so just really happy for him.
Q. With the way the defense held up on the drive after they got to the six there and the two plays Devon made in the end --
MIKE MACDONALD: Oh, my God. That's Devon Witherspoon. That's him. We didn't execute that play well on the fourth down, but he just covered his guy forever and just refused to let his guy catch the ball. That's who he is. That's who he is every day.
So incredibly proud of him.
Q. Five games against the Rams in two years. Total point advantage you, three, in all five games. What is it about McVay's teams that seem to bring out the best in...
MIKE MACDONALD: They're great team, and he's as good as it gets, him and his staff game planning-wise. They got great players.
You just tip your hat to them. I know you're not supposed to as a division rival, but we respect those guys. They're a great offense and they're great coaches. Heck of a matchup.
I mean, it's probably going to be like this for a long time.
Q. That final four minute drive, Kupp, the one that K9 and then big throw to Jax, what can you say about the whole drive?
MIKE MACDONALD: Awesome. You know, we popped a couple runs and then stayed aggressive with some of the passes. Sam made it happen. It was awesome.
Q. When you tell a story to Jack one day, how do you think you'll start it?
MIKE MACDONALD: I don't know. Probably won't say anything. Just kind of show him. Let him experience it, you know.
Just that's a great question. I don't know. I hope he sees what we did with our team and how we played and what type of character this team has. That's what I hope he takes from the whole thing.
Q. In terms of character, you talked about (indiscernible) the resiliency and the next-play mentality.
MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah. We needed it. I mean, look, they had us on the ropes straight up, you know. Sometimes it was defense making the play. A lot of times it was offense coming in and making the play, special teams. That's what we believe.
We believe that our team is our edge, how we play together.
Q. Had the chance to put them away and got the penalty. (Regarding 15 yard penalty.)
MIKE MACDONALD: I don't remember that at all.
Q. You don't have to now. You survived it. Really could've been a dark day if they won the game. What did you see there and is there lessons from that?
MIKE MACDONALD: Look, Riq has done a tremendous job for us. Yeah, you're frustrated in the moment about what's happening, but he just made an emotional decision and, you know, we got to pick him up. There is not enough -- that's not the time to point, get all upset.
You got to go play the next play and score and go rebound back and go back. Riq Cam back and played well the rest of the game. So I mean, it literally is like 12 is one. Just keep picking each other up.
Q. You thoughts on when to blitz or not, there was a third down there, maybe a third and 12. You got 'em. Were you -- I don't know how much you did, but what was your sort of calculus there in when to send extra guys in? Looked like they had some protection.
MIKE MACDONALD: Well, we weren't covering very well so trying to find some solutions in the back end, and so there is a trade-off when you do, and the timing of how you do it. They had a great game plan. They did some things on second down they hadn't done all season and we had to come up with some new stuff.
Frankly they were really hurting us on second downs. We had to adjust.
Q. So much happened in the second half. Might be easy to forget the first half. That sequence where they get the ball and they're trying to drive and Nick breaks up a couple passes, gets the ball back...
MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, I thought Nick played a great game. A lot of plays on the ball. We're asking him to do a lot of stuff, playing near the line of scrimmage, playing both DB spots.
That was awesome.
And then because I think we had the drive earlier when we really didn't do anything and defense picked it up with the three and out, which I don't think we've done that, maybe except for the first drive.
And then Sam made the huge play to Jax and held on to it after the big hit and made a heck of a play to score. I think it was a seven-cut to Jaxon for the touchdown.
Stayed in there and made a heck of a throw. There are some -- tell you what, I'm not a quarterback expert, but that's some high powered quarterbacking going on in that game by No. 14 for sure.
Q. The defensive line been an issue for this team for so many years. That game opened up the run game and protected Sam well. What did you see from that group, Charles especially?
MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, guys played a great game. T Charles is banged up. Played through it. Yeah, incredible. Team effort. I'm telling you, it literally takes all -- you talk about George Holani not playing for however many weeks, coming in and practicing for one week and getting ready to play and making big time plays for us. Cam Akers coming in and playing. Just really awesome.
Q. Kenneth Walker stepping up; 111 yards and a touchdown. What can you say about him?
MIKE MACDONALD: Just I'm happy for him. Just he just worked. Now he's had an opportunity to really carry the load and he's doing great job.
We're going to need him for one more game.
Q. You talked so much about complementary football. Seemed today in the pass game you had complementary football going on. Big plays downfield, getting it after the catch, chunks, Ken Walker's catch there on the last drive. How critical was it to be able to have that kind of complementary passing attack today?
MIKE MACDONALD: I think it's an example of like you can't press and try to go hunt -- like force your way to make plays.
What you can do is just keep playing on a play-by-play basis and go through your reads and go through your progressions and take a sack if you need to, throw it when you need to, and just do that over and over again.
We got great players. When the ball finds them they're going to make plays for us.
Q. Jaxon has been so good all season.
MIKE MACDONALD: I'm not surprised. Just like Sam. We need those efforts for us to be productive on offense and happy for Jaxon. Guy is an absolute stud.
Q. Cooper, there was a sequence, caught a pass, converted third down, walked downfield then gets the touchdown. The professionalism the guy has, do you marvel at it?
MIKE MACDONALD: I'm just happy -- how about that? Coop against his former team, NFC Championship gets a touchdown. Some whispers before the game like how cool would it be if Coop scored a touchdown today, and he did.
I mean, we love him. He's the best.
Q. Mike, in the first half Dareke Young, was that an adjustment to settle him in front of the punt returner the second time or...
MIKE MACDONALD: Dareke has played great football for us all year. I think in that moment he thought he was playing for like the end line when really should have been in front of the guy. So just quick fix, back to your role.
Q. What can you say about Michael Dickson's punting?
MIKE MACDONALD: Oh, yeah, we needed to flip field position and put the guys on his heels and forced him to make a great catch, and unfortunately for him he dropped it.
Q. Can you help us understand what it took to get Sam ready for this game? You said he hardly practiced this week. What was the week like for him?
MIKE MACDONALD: Well, like coming from the medical folks it was always optimistic, and he kept getting better. But I think from -- I'm not going to put words in Sam's mouth but just trying to be as smart as possible to get him ready to play.
He was confident and to come out the way he played barely practicing, just barely throwing the ball, is really incredible. It's like should go down as one of the best performances in playoff history I would imagine.
I mean, hard to stack it. I can't imagine anybody playing any better.
Q. You mentioned Sam and the high-powered quarterbacking. The narrative seemed still like is he going to make a mistake?
MIKE MACDONALD: Keep talking.
Q. Talked about it all year, but where he is now from where he's come and playing the best game in this situation?
MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, everyone wants to make a narrative about this guy, but he's been the same guy since he walked in the door. It's like -- you don't want me writing the stories because I would not write the narratives out there. This guy is the man and his teammates love him and he's competitive as crap and he's tough.
He's really talented and he's a winner. That would be the story. So don't let me write the story.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports