Dec 18, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) hugs offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak after defeating the Los Angeles Rams in overtime at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
In the days leading up to the NFC Championship Game, reports surfaced that the Las Vegas Raiders’ interest in Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak
had intensified as other head coaching vacancies were filled. Naturally, there was some concern that the external noise could affect his focus or preparation for the biggest game of the season.
Instead, Kubiak delivered one of his most efficient and structurally sound game plans of the year on the sport’s biggest stage.
From the opening drives, Seattle’s offense was clearly built to attack the core structure of the Los Angeles Rams’ defense, a unit that frequently alternates between light boxes and late safety rotations. The consistent use of play-action was critical in manipulating second-level defenders, freezing linebackers just long enough to open throwing windows behind them.
The one area where Klint Kubiak fell short
Before diving deeper into the passing game, it’s worth pausing to highlight the one area where Kubiak arguably fell short: run-game adjustments.
Early on, Seattle found success attacking the edges of the Rams’ defensive front. However, Los Angeles adjusted by playing with more physicality and setting firmer edges.
In the second half, the Rams clearly adjusted to Seattle’s rushing attack. Edge defenders stayed disciplined, eliminating cutback lanes that fueled early success. Linebackers attacked gaps with improved timing, and the defensive line won more consistently at the point of attack.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-28T16:15:17.562Z
Unlike what we saw against the 49ers, Kubiak wasn’t able to counter effectively. Ken Walker still produced a handful of impressive individual runs, but overall consistency in the run game remained an issue throughout the night.
Attacking Quarters coverage
Kubiak repeatedly used wide receivers aligned in the backfield to stress the Rams’ zone-match rules, particularly against Quarters coverage.
Klint Kubiak attacking Rams Quarters coverage making the safety pay and creating the 1v1 outside.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:26:15.195Z
On one example, the primary read is tied to the #2 receiver — in this case, Cooper Kupp. The safety appears overly concerned with rallying to the catch and limiting yards after reception, triggering downhill. That hesitation leaves Rashid Shaheed isolated one-on-one on the outside. After an excellent release, Shaheed wins vertically and hauls in a 51-yard completion.
Once again against Quarters, Seattle aligns a receiver in the backfield. Typically, the outside corner handles #1, the nickel takes #2, and the linebacker carries #3. Most of the time, that #3 is a running back unlikely to threaten vertically. This time, it’s the most productive receiver in the NFL in 2025, running a vertical route from the backfield for the first time all season.
That’s where the
RB Scissors concept comes into play: a post route from Shaheed (#22) paired with a corner route from Jaxon Smith-Njigba (#11). It’s a textbook way to beat Quarters. The linebacker does his job, passing off the vertical route to the safety — but that safety is already occupied by Shaheed’s post. JSN is left completely uncovered.
Kyle Shanahan RB Scissors against Seahawks in 2017
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:26:50.486Z
If this concept feels familiar, unfortunately, there’s some bad news. Kubiak appears to have borrowed directly from a Kyle Shanahan design dating back to his Falcons days — specifically a 2017 touchdown by Tevin Coleman against Seattle in the NFC Divisional Round.
Putting Jaxon Smith-Njigba in position to succeed
Good coaches don’t ask players to do what they can’t. Great coaches consistently put players in positions to do what they do best. Kubiak provided a masterclass in that regard with Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Kubiak creates space for JSN, forcing the safety to defend vertically, and occupies the safety on the other side with Shaheed's route. He leaves JSN in a 1v1 situation, and then the WR does his job, dominating the safety. The pass is a millisecond late, preventing the YAC.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:29:09.993Z
Seattle motions pre-snap, shifting JSN from the #1 to the #2 alignment. Cooper Kupp runs a vertical route to hold the deep safety, while Shaheed’s route on the opposite side occupies the linebacker and backside safety. What initially looks like disguised man coverage from the Rams rotates into Tampa 2 — and Kubiak has the perfect answer.
JSN ends up isolated one-on-one with the safety. He threatens the sideline before snapping vertically. The pass from Sam Darnold arrives slightly late, limiting yards after the catch, but it’s still an excellent throw — and an even better rep from JSN.
Darious Williams, after being burned, lines up in off-cov and was attacked by Kubiak again. An RPO to the left side, but Darnold connects with JSN, who exploits the open space.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:31:49.406Z
After Darious Williams was beaten on the vertical route mentioned earlier, Kubiak went right back to him. This time, Williams plays with extra depth to protect against the deep ball. Seattle calls an RPO to the left, but Darnold immediately recognizes the favorable leverage for JSN, who turns the quick throw into a solid gain after the catch.
A very similar concept follows. JSN is again aligned in the backfield, and the Rams fail to match the motion properly. This creates a perfect scenario where a single block from Cooper Kupp is enough to spring JSN for a significant gain.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:33:20.996Z
A very similar concept follows. JSN is again aligned in the backfield, and the Rams fail to match the motion properly. This creates a perfect scenario where a single block from Cooper Kupp is enough to spring JSN for a significant gain.
Establishing the staples
The play-action flood concept has become a staple of Kubiak’s offense
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:33:35.691Z
The
play-action flood concept has become a staple of Kubiak’s offense, showing up almost every week. The run fake holds the linebackers just long enough for JSN’s route to develop behind them, occupying the space created by Shaheed’s vertical stem. The design provides a true three-level read — short, intermediate, and deep — giving the quarterback clean answers against multiple coverages.
Tthe frequent use of flood and sail concepts stood out immediately. By overloading one side of the field — often with trips or bunch formations — Kubiak consistently put the Rams’ zone-heavy defense into conflict.
The pairing of an intermediate-to-deep route with a short option in the flat forced defenders into quick decisions that almost always favored the offense. Kubiak also leaned heavily on condensed formations and bunch sets, which made press-man coverage difficult and created natural separation right at the snap.
Not every design was executed cleanly, though. Seahawks motioned the tight end Eric Saubert’s — something Seattle leaned on all night — Shaheed takes the handoff on an end-around. Anthony Bradford fails to secure his block, and all the window dressing results in exactly zero yards.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:34:56.206Z
Not every design was executed cleanly, though. Seahawks motioned the tight end Eric Saubert — something Seattle leaned on all night — Shaheed takes the handoff on an end-around. Anthony Bradford fails to secure his block, and all the window dressing results in exactly zero yards.
Following a holding penalty, Seattle uses JSN on orbit motion. The combined movement of Shaheed and Saubert sells a WR screen to the left, while a running back screen develops to the opposite side. Leaving Ken Walker in space is almost always the right call.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:35:48.403Z
Then comes another excellent design. Following a holding penalty (once again involving #75), Seattle uses JSN on orbit motion. The combined movement of Shaheed and Saubert sells a wide receiver screen to the left, while a running back screen develops to the opposite side. Leaving Ken Walker in space is almost always the right call.
Finishing in the Red Zone
In the red zone, it initially looked like Kubiak had borrowed directly from Sean McVay’s playbook with a classic Dagger concept. In reality, the call was
Chair, featuring five-yard in-breaking routes from both the #1 and #2 receivers. The #3 runs a vertical route based on the safety’s alignment, designed to create space in the middle of the field.
The call is Chair, featuring five-yard in-breaking routes from both the #1 and #2 receivers. The #3 runs a vertical route based on the safety’s alignment, designed to create space in the middle of the field.
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(@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T16:36:20.569Z
Darnold works through his progression and correctly comes back to Cooper Kupp, who secures the touchdown against his former team.
Final Thoughts
The Seahawks game plan was specifically built to
attack the Rams’ coverage disguises, forcing the defense to declare post-snap and then punishing hesitation at the second level and putting the defenders in conflict.
Kubiak consistently put his skill players in positions to stress the structure of the defense. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was deployed as a movable chess piece to manipulate hook defenders and safeties, while Shaheed’s vertical speed was used to stretch the field and widen coverage lanes, creating space underneath and between the numbers. Even when those players weren’t the primary targets, their routes dictated coverage behavior and opened windows elsewhere in the concept.
What stands out on tape is how intentional the sequencing was. Routes complemented each other, motions were used to confirm coverage, and the Rams were repeatedly forced to play reactionary football. The expectation going forward is that Kubiak can marry this same level of precision in the passing game with a more consistent run game, creating a fully balanced offense — one capable of dictating terms against elite defenses and positioning the Seahawks for another Super Bowl run.
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(@ASchatzNFL) 
