The Seattle Seahawks are heading back to the Super Bowl! On Sunday, the Seahawks defeated the rival Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in the NFC Championship Game to clinch their spot in Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, Calif. Now, they are set to take on the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl 49 rematch.
Entering this season, the Seahawks didn't necessarily get the respect in the division, considering they missed out on the playoffs last year. Plus, they were in the same division as the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, both of whom were considered the favorites to win the NFC West.
Yet, the Seahawks won the division this season with 14 wins, clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference, and are now heading to the big game. Credit for this turnaround can be given to head coach Mike Macdonald.
Mike Macdonald drops incredible quote about Seahawks running through Rams, 49ers to reach Super Bowl 60
During the NFC Championship trophy presentation, FOX Sports analyst Michael Strahan brought up to Macdonald that, entering the season, the Seahawks were "an afterthought" to the Rams and 49ers. Strahan asked Macdonald what he thought about going through both teams in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl. Macdonald responded with the ultimate mic-drop quote.
"We did not care. It's about us. It's always been about us and what we do. And now we're going to the Super Bowl," said Macdonald.
Print the t-shirts in Seahawks navy and green with "We Did Not Care" in block lettering. If the Seahawks truly win it all, this will be a quote that Seahawks fans will remember for a long time.
The Seahawks may have clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but their path to the big game was tough due to the fact that they had to face their two rivals in the playoffs. Both the 49ers and the Seahawks had double-digit wins on the year, but didn't have enough to win the division.
In the Divisional Round, the Seahawks hosted the 49ers, a matter of two weeks after Seattle picked up a 13-3 win for the No. 1 seed and the division. The Seahawks set the tone early, with Rashid Shaheed's opening kickoff return touchdown. Add a three-touchdown performance by running back Kenneth Walker, and you get a 41-6 blowout victory by the Seahawks.
Then, in the NFC Championship game, Darnold exorcised his demons by having one of the best games of his career against a team that had haunted him this year, the Rams. In the first two head-to-head matchups, Darnold threw two touchdowns and six interceptions against the Rams' defense.
In the final game of this year's head-to-head trilogy, Darnold completed 25 of 36 pass attempts for 346 yards and three touchdowns. It was an incredible performance that is even better when considering Matthew Stafford had an NFL MVP performance (374 yards, three touchdowns).
The job isn't finished just yet for the Seahawks. Sure, it feels great to reach the Super Bowl by defeating your two biggest rivals. But what would make it even better is to defeat the Patriots to hoist their second Lombardi Trophy. If that does happen, Macdonald will enter Seattle sports lore, and this postgame quote will live on forever.