SEATTLE — Short week, strange and bad trip.
The Rams were on the verge of enduring a quick turnaround, a distracting Puka Nacua controversy, and a flight delay but they could not hold onto the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold’s two-point conversion pass to tight end Eric Saubert sent the Rams to a 38-37 overtime defeat on Thursday night before 68,853 at Lumen Field.
After Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with Nacua for a 41-yard touchdown pass, Darnold’s four-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba pulled the Seahawks to within two points.
Darnold finished the Rams with the pass to Saubert.
The loss dropped the Rams record to 11-4, knocked them out of first place in the NFC West and put a major roadblock in their pursuit of home-field advantage for the playoffs.
The division race remains tight, with the Seahawks (12-3) now in first place and the San Francisco 49ers (10-4) still in the mix.
The Rams conclude the season with a Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta and a home game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Seahawks finish with road games at Carolina and San Francisco.
The 49ers play the Colts at Indianapolis and then home games against the Chicago Bears and the Seahawks.
Stafford completed 29 of 49 passes for 457 yards and three touchdowns. Nacua caught 12 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Kam Curl, Josh Wallace and Kobie Turner forced turnovers for the Rams, but it wasn’t enough.
The Rams, who clinched a playoff spot last Sunday with a victory over the Detroit Lions, played Thursday without injured star receiver Davante Adams.
Nacua, rookie Konata Mumpfield and Xavier Smith tried to make up the difference.
Nacua entered the game mired in controversy after making critical comments about referees and performing an antisemetic gesture during a livestream. The third-year receiver apologized in an Instagram post Thursday, and the Rams and NFL released statements denouncing the gesture.
Nacua eclipsed 180 yards receiving for the third game in a row.
Turner, linebacker Nate Landman and defensive tackle Poona Ford had sacks for the Rams.
The Rams led 13-7 at halftime on Stafford’s short touchdown pass to rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson and the first two of Harrison Mevis’ three field goals.
Near the end of the second quarter, Curl forced former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp to fumble the ball out of the end zone for a touchback, preserving the lead.
Early in the third quarter, Kenneth Walker III scored on a long touchdown run for the Seahawks, but Mevis’ third field goal put the Rams back in front, 16-14.
On the ensuing possession, Wallace picked off a pass for his first career interception and returned it 56 yards to set up Blake Corum’s one-yard touchdown run for a 23-14 lead.
The Rams scored early in the fourth quarter when Nacua broke free for a 58-yard reception, and Nacua then scored on a short pass for a 30-14 lead. Turner’s first career interception on Seattle’s ensuing possession seemingly sealed the victory.
But Rashid Shaheed returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown and Kupp caught a two-point conversion pass to pull the Seahawks to within eight points with about eight minutes left.
Darnold’s 26-yard touchdown pass to tight end A.J. Barner pulled the Seahawks even, and after it appeared that a two-point conversion pass failed, officials ruled that Darnold’s pass was behind the line of scrimmage when it tipped off Jared Verse and was recovered in the end zone by Zach Charbonnet for two points, tying the score.
The Rams had a chance to take the lead with just over two minutes left, but Mevis missed a 48-yard, field-goal attempt, his first miss of the season.
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