Seahawks victory over Rams proves why Seattle always needed more Bobo

Finding a way in big moments has seemingly always been the Jake Bobo way. He is never going to be the Seattle Seahawks' most consistently high-end producing wide receiver. He does the dirty things that help Seattle win. That includes blocking, of course, but coming up huge in unexpected moments, too.

In the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle led 17-13 at halftime, started with the ball in the second half, but failed to do anything and punted. The Rams muffed the punt, though, and Seattle recovered. One play later, Seattle took a 24-13 lead because of two things.

One was quarterback Sam Darnold having enough time to throw, but the other, just as important, was a brilliant route run by Jake Bobo. The wide receiver was lined up to the quarterback's left by himself against defensive back Cobie Durant. Bobo ran a post, made an in-cut that completely shook Durant, leaving the wide receiver clearly open.

Jake Bobo continues to help shape the Seattle Seahawks' successful narrative

Bobo is 6'4" but lacks elite speed. He makes up for that, when given the chance, by crisp route-running. What he did against Durant would make some of the best wide receivers in the NFL jealous. One could rightly wonder why Bobo doesn't get the ball more.

The truth is, of course, that he isn't great at creating separation from defenders, at least not when he isn't close to the end zone. He's also more valuable as a blocker, whether that is with the run or after Jaxon Smith-Njigba catches a pass. His drive to do whatever his team needs to help the Seahawks win is why he has become a fan favorite in Seattle.

He isn't extremely productive in terms of raw statistics, and he never will be. But he is exactly the kind of player that every team needs. He will perform well on special teams, he is a smart player and a positive one (his presence in the locker room is exceedingly overrated), and he rarely drops a pass when one is tossed his way.

The Los Angeles Rams certainly didn't expect more Bobo in the third quarter of the NFC Championship game. The receiver's touchdown catch grew the lead to 11 points, and Seattle would remain keeping a safe, if somewhat tenuous, advantage throughout the rest of the game.

Without Jake Bobo, maybe the Seattle Seahawks still win, but maybe they don't. A field goal instead of Bobo's touchdown would have changed the scope of the game. He made sure that didn't happen.