On Thursday night, the Seattle Seahawks stunned the Los Angeles Rams 38-37 in overtime and locked up a playoff spot for the first time since the Pete Carroll era ended. The Emerald City had waited for this feeling. And while the 12s celebrated, Captain Ernest Jones IV was already locked in.

“I think the biggest thing for our group is don’t get relaxed just because you clinch this playoff spot. That’s where teams start going downhill,” Jones IV said, while speaking on the Nightcap podcast.

This was leadership and a warning to the locker room not to lose focus. He followed it up with the same mindset the Seahawks have preached all season.

“All year, we’ve been focused on next team, next man up. We want the number one seed, and we going to go get that.”

And honestly, that mindset showed up on the field. Seattle looked finished midway through the fourth quarter. The Rams had full control. Yet the Seahawks never flinched. Instead, they chipped away. One drive at a time. One stop at a time. Eventually, they forced overtime. Then they answered a Rams touchdown with one of their own.

Then came the moment that broke the City of Angels. In overtime, Sam Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the end zone. Right after that, he spotted Eric Saubert wide open for the winning two-point conversion. Seattle finished a perfect 3-for-3 on two-point tries. Still, none topped the miracle earlier that tied it at 30-all late in the fourth.

However, the chaos did not stop there. A deflected Darnold pass meant for Zach Charbonnet was first ruled incomplete. After review, it was ruled a backward pass. Charbonnet casually picked it up in the end zone for two points. Earlier in overtime, the Rams struck first when Matthew Stafford hit Puka Nacua, who walked in untouched for a 41-yard touchdown to make it 37-30.

Still, the Seahawks had the last word. Darnold answered; the defense held. And Seattle walked off with a wild 38-37 win. However, Jones didn’t stop there either.

Ernest Jones IV called out the Rams

Later in the conversation, the Seahawks linebacker revealed that they always knew they had a chance to win the Rams game and make it to the playoffs.

“When you playing this game, bro, you got to be humble. And I think they shot their gun a little early, and you let us stick around. So I knew we had a chance,” Jones said.

Then the story got sharper. In his post-game press conference, Jones explained what lit the fire. He said Rams players were laughing at Seahawks players when the score hit 30-14. He said they were openly saying the game was over. Jones called it disrespectful, not just to Seattle but to the game itself. He made it clear he would not name names. Still, he added that the message would land exactly where it needed to.

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That moment cut against the Rams’ usual image. Los Angeles has long been seen as one of the league’s most disciplined groups. Yet the Seahawks stayed close long enough to expose some cracks.

Meanwhile, Seattle had every reason to respect the Rams. Last season’s division loss came down to four tiebreakers. Week 11 ended with a two-point heartbreak. Jones even defended Sam Darnold after turnovers cost them before. This time, when adversity hit again, Sam trusted his teammates. They responded. And the Emerald City had the last laugh.