As Sam Darnold went through his progressions on the play that would decide the outcome of the game, he looked to his right, didn't like what he saw, came to his left, then finally, with plenty of time thanks to great protection, threaded a pass through traffic and into the arms of tight end Eric Saubert for the game-winning two-point conversion.

And with that completion to Saubert, Darnold not only helped the Seahawks complete a remarkable comeback on their way to a 38-37 overtime victory over the Rams, he also helped put to rest any questions about his play in big moments.

Earlier this season, Darnold threw four interceptions in a loss to the Rams, and last season with the Vikings, he was sacked nine times in a playoff loss to the Rams. And for three plus quarters on Thursday, it looked like it was going to be another rough day for Darnold at the hands of the Rams defense.

But Darnold has been resilient his whole career, it's why he's playing at a Pro-Bowl level for the second straight year after multiple teams gave up on him early in his career, and he showed that trait in big way with the stakes about as high as they could be in a regular season game.

Darnold and Seattle's offense started well, moving the ball down the field on their opening possession for a touchdown, but after that the offense struggled to produce consistently, and as has been the case too often this season, turnovers were an issue. First, there was a fumble by the usually sure-handed Cooper Kupp, costing the Seahawks a chance to score at the end of the half, then in the second half, there were two Darnold interceptions that both proved costly. The first, which came on a third-down pass to Rashid Shaheed, was returned to the 1-yard line, setting up a Rams touchdown, and the second came with the Seahawks in the red zone early in the third quarter.

That second interception, which came with the Seahawks already trailing by 16 points, felt like a back-breaker. But after Shaheed gave the Seahawks a spark with a punt return touchdown, the Seahawks, and their quarterback, weren't done. Darnold and the offense produced another fourth-quarter touchdown, with Darnold hitting tight end AJ Barner on a 26-yard touchdown, and after a bonkers 2-point conversion, the game was tied at 30-30.

Neither team could take advantage of late fourth-quarter drives, leaving the score tied and sending the game to overtime. The Rams got the ball first and scored a touchdown, meaning the Seahawks had to answer with a touchdown of their own, and once again, Darnold was up for the challenge, going 5 for 6 for 49 yards, hitting Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the back of the end zone to cap the drive with a touchdown. The Seahawks then decided to go for two points and the win, and Darnold connected with Saubert for the winner.

"Our story has stayed the same since day one with Sam," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "It's everybody else that has different stories. This is a guy that we watch every day. Same guy every day no matter the circumstance. He's an ultimate competitor. He's a phenomenal leader. Just keeps fighting and keeps plugging away. We weren't worried one bit. So that's Sam.

"That's what Sam does. He's him. He's a competitor. He does the same thing every day. You know, we have his back and he knows that, so just keep going and do your thing and go figure out a way to win a game."

In a game in which Darnold was far from his best for three-plus quarters, the fact that he finished so strong shows a lot about the type of player he is. Following his second interception, the one early in the fourth quarter that looked like a potential back-breaker, Darnold was 8 for 12, with one of those incompletions a spike to stop the clock, for 101 yards, two touchdowns and two 2-point conversion completions.

"I've had games like this in the past where I haven't played necessarily my best football and turned the ball over, but at the end of the game you see yourself on the other side," Darnold said. "It's not great when you have interceptions and turnovers. You want to limit that. But all you can do is fight back. For us, I was just going to continue to plug away, get the ball to open receivers, and go through my reads."

Said receiver Cooper Kupp, who had a toe-dragging sideline catch for a 21-yard gain on the winning drive, "He's just putting more examples of what we've known because he's resilient. His steadiness, his leadership, all these things that you want a quarterback.

You've got to have a guy step in the huddle, that's going to lead you the right way, regardless of what's put on him and whatever adversities come his way. His ability to overcome it, to go through it, and still be the same Sam Darnold that we need him to be, it's very impressive and he's done an unbelievable job of it. Yeah, he was no different."

Linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who had strong words to defend his quarterback after the Week 11 loss in LA, was not surprised to see Darnold respond to adversity the way he did.

"This is the same thing that I know about Sam," Jones said. "Sam's a baller. When we need Sam, Sam's going to come through and he did just that today."

Added Smith-Njigba, "It just shows a true competitor. A lot of guys would get down on themselves and give up, lay down. That's not what we do, that's not who he is and that goes around to the whole team. I'm excited to have a leader in Sam."