When the clock hit zero, Davante Adams had nowhere to go but back to the locker room. No celebration, no champagne, nothing.
Five NFC Championship Games. Five losses. Different jerseys, same ending.
Sunday’s 31-27 loss to the Seahawks didn’t just knock the Rams out of a Super Bowl XL berth. It added another chapter to one of the most brilliant, cruelly unfinished careers of this era. Adams, the 33-year-old future Hall of Famer, has authored greatness everywhere he’s been. He just can’t seem to write his way into February.
Adams did his job. Four catches, 89 yards, and a touchdown.
After a quiet last few weeks by his standards, Adams was every bit the elite technician who led the NFL with 14 receiving touchdowns this season. Adams and teammate Puka Nacua combined for 13 catches and 254 yards, doing everything in their power to propel the Rams to victory. When the Rams needed answers, Matthew Stafford kept looking for No. 17 and No. 12.
But football doesn’t reward résumés. It demands endings.
Adams has now reached the NFC title game five times — four with the Packers, once with the Rams — and has walked away empty-handed every time. Seattle has been a recurring antagonist. He was a young receiver in 2014 when the Seahawks ripped out Green Bay’s heart in this very building, erasing a late deficit with an onside kick miracle and an overtime dagger.
Eleven years later, the stadium still echoes with unfinished business.
There’s an edge to Adams’ career that numbers can’t smooth over. Three All-Pro selections. Six Pro Bowls. A decade of dominance against the best corners alive. He’s played with MVP quarterbacks, survived organizational chaos in both Las Vegas and New York, and chose Los Angeles believing the Rams could finally deliver him to the sport’s biggest stage.
He even said it out loud this week, calling the Super Bowl “mythical,” as if it were something other players talked about but he was never meant to touch.
Sunday felt like another cruel confirmation.
The Rams, flawless in NFC Championship Games under Sean McVay until now, couldn’t overcome their Achilles heel all season long: special teams.
Punt returner Xavier Smith muffed two punts in the game; his second and final was more back-breaking. With the Rams set to take over trailing 17-13, and a chance to retake the lead, Smith fumbled on the Rams 17-yard-line giving the ball back to Seattle. One play later, Darnold found Jake Bobo down the middle for the touchdown and the Seahawks went up 24-13. It was too much for the Rams to overcome.
When the clock hit zero, Adams was left holding the weight of history in his hands.
Adams is one of the defining wide receivers of his generation, but once again, the Super Bowl door slammed shut before he could walk through it.
