Rams' Davante Adams Reflects on NFC Championship Balance

WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. This week is familiar territory for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams. Adams has sat on the precipice of a Super Bowl appearance on four separate occasions, falling short in heartbreaking fashion time and time again.

Adams, who played for the Green Bay Packers from 2014-2021, lost the 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2020 editions of the NFC title game before departing for Las Vegas. During his time with the Raiders and New York Jets, Adams did not play a single playoff game, only returning to the postseason when the Rams traveled to Carolina.

Adams' losses in general are simply hope-shattering. Adams was on the losing end of Larry Fitzgerald's magical catch and run to lift the Arizona Cardinals over a Green Bay Packers team that had tied the game with a Hail Mary to end regulation in the 2015 NFC Divisional Round. Adams' final game as a Packer ended when Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers upset the number one-seeded Packers in snowy Lambeau Field.

All the Losses

But the championship game losses are worse. The 2014 game was in Seattle, the stadium Adams returns to for his fifth shot at a Super Bowl trip. In that game, Green Bay squandered a double-digit lead through a gluttony of errors, including a muffed onside kick to lose in overtime.

In 2016, Atlanta's offensive output saw the Falcons lead the Packers 24-0 at halftime with Atlanta defeating Green Bay 44-21.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (17) eludes Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane (20) for a 66 yard touchdown pass from Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) in the first quarter during the Green Bay Packers- Seattle Seahawks NFL football game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin, Sunday, December 11, 2016. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photo by Rick Wood/RWOOD@JOURNALSENTINEL.COM ORG XMIT: 20090496A | Rick Wood / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In 2019, Jimmy Garoppolo threw eight total passes as Raheem Mostert ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns as the 49ers blew out the Packers 37-20.

In 2020, Adams' most heartbreaking loss, the Packers fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-26, ending what was one of Green Bay's most magical seasons in recent memory.

Adams' Fifth Appearance

Adams was asked on Wednesday if this contest is just another game for him. Adams made it clear that winning this game is everything to him.

“It's not," stated Adams. "I've been here quite a few times and I think I may have mentioned to you guys a few times, forgive me if I'm not smiling ear to ear after the first win or the second win. Just having been here so many times and understanding exactly what it takes to get where we're ultimately trying to go."

"It's obviously exciting to achieve the minor goals along the way that you ultimately need to do to get where you want to be. It feels almost like a mythical thing to me at this point. You do everything you can to get there and it's been so hard and I’ve been working so hard at it. We're close. We just have to finish it off.”

Adams' career has found new life in Southern California, and perhaps his Super Bowl ambitions may as well.

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