The weight of another missed Super Bowl chance hit hard for Davante Adams after the Los Angeles Rams fell 31–27 to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game on January 25, 2026, at Lumen Field.

“It’s tough. It’s tough to talk,” Adams said in the locker room afterward, visibly fighting back tears as he addressed reporters. The raw emotion in his voice captured the toll of repeated near-misses at football’s ultimate prize.

This defeat marked the fifth time Adams has reached the NFC Championship Game only to come up short. Four of those losses came during his standout years with the Green Bay Packers, where he played alongside Aaron Rodgers from 2014 to 2021. His rookie season ended in heartbreaking fashion with a 28-22 overtime loss to the Seahawks in Seattle—the same venue that haunted him again on Sunday. Other defeats followed in Atlanta (2016, 44-21 loss to the Falcons), San Francisco (2019, 37-20 to the 49ers), and Tampa Bay (2020, 31-26 to the Buccaneers).

Now, in his first season with the Rams after signing a two-year, $46 million deal in March 2025—with $26 million guaranteed—Adams added a fifth chapter to this painful pattern.

Despite the sting, Adams refused to let the loss overshadow his pride in the team. “I’m proud of the way the guys fought today,” he added. “I love this team, love what this team is about. Love the fight that we had all year. It just sucks to come up short.”

The 33-year-old wide receiver delivered yet another strong performance when it mattered most. In the high-stakes NFC title clash, Adams finished with four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, including a critical 2-yard scoring grab from Matthew Stafford in the third quarter that trimmed Seattle’s lead. His contributions helped keep the Rams competitive throughout a back-and-forth battle. Los Angeles trailed 31-20 late in the third after a Seahawks scoring drive, but rallied with big plays—including a Stafford-to-Puka Nacua touchdown—to make it 31-27.

Ultimately, the Rams’ final drive stalled, with Seattle’s defense making a crucial stand on fourth down near the goal line to preserve the win.

Adams’ stat line in the game was impressive, but it paled against the larger context of his career. Entering the 2025 season, he had already amassed a resume worthy of Canton. Over 178 career games (through the regular season and playoffs), Adams has recorded 1,017 receptions for 12,633 yards and 117 touchdowns. Those numbers include six Pro Bowl selections and three First-Team All-Pro honors. In 2025 with the Rams, he posted 60 catches for 789 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns in 14 regular-season games, proving he still possesses elite production even as he approaches his mid-30s.

The journey to Los Angeles represented a fresh start and a return to the West Coast, where Adams—originally from California—hoped to chase the ring that has eluded him. After stints with the Packers, Las Vegas Raiders (2022-2024), and a brief stop with the New York Jets in 2024, the move to the Rams reunited him with a quarterback in Stafford who could maximize his skills. The team built around him, Nacua, and Cooper Kupp (who ironically scored for Seattle in this game after his own circuitous path) looked poised for a deep run.

They finished the regular season strong enough to earn a playoff spot and advanced to the conference title game, only to fall agonizingly short once more.

For Adams, the Super Bowl has become, in his own words from earlier in the week, a “mythical” thing—something talked about, dreamed of, but never quite grasped. The pattern of NFC Championship losses is rare and brutal. His 0-5 record in conference title games ranks among the most unfortunate in modern NFL history, second only to a handful of players with longer droughts without a win.

Each one carries its own scar: the rookie-year overtime heartbreaker in Seattle, the blowout in Atlanta, the defensive masterclass by San Francisco, the Aaron Rodgers-led collapse against Tom Brady’s Buccaneers, and now this latest chapter against a Seahawks team led by Sam Darnold.

Yet at 33, Adams is far from finished. He remains under contract for 2026, and his play suggests he has plenty left in the tank. His route-running remains precise, his hands reliable, and his ability to win contested catches undiminished. The Rams, with Stafford still effective and a talented supporting cast, could reload for another push. Adams’ leadership—evident in his postgame comments praising his teammates—adds intangible value to a franchise hungry for another Lombardi Trophy.

Nights like this one hurt the most because they remind everyone, especially Adams, how close greatness can feel without crossing the finish line. The tears in the locker room weren’t just for the immediate loss but for the cumulative weight of what might have been. Still, the chase continues. For a player who has given so much to the game and produced at an elite level for over a decade, one more season—or more—offers hope that the mythical can become real.

In the unforgiving world of the NFL, where legacies are defined by rings, Davante Adams’ story remains unfinished. The pain is real, but so is the resolve. As he processes this latest setback, the drive to finally reach the Super Bowl burns brighter than ever. Football fans across America will watch to see if this chapter ends in triumph—or adds another layer to one of the league’s most poignant pursuits.