After 4 NFC title game losses with Packers, Davante Adams resumes chase of ‘mythical thing’ for Rams

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Davante Adams reached the NFC championship game four times during his eight seasons with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

Every time, Green Bay came up just short of the Super Bowl — and Adams still feels the pain.

“It just feels almost like a mythical thing to me at this point,” Adams said Wednesday. “You do everything you can to get there, and it’s been so hard. Been working so hard at it.”

After an ensuing three years spent nowhere near a Super Bowl, Adams is back for his fifth shot when his Los Angeles Rams (14-5) visit the Seattle Seahawks (16-3) on Sunday for another NFC title game.

The 33-year-old Adams is still going strong as the league leader in touchdown receptions and a key component of the NFL’s top offense. But when the decorated receiver says he craves that final, ultimate team success far more than individual accolades, it’s clear he’s among the rare athletes who absolutely mean it.

“Forgive me if I’m not smiling ear-to-ear after the first win or the second (playoff) win, having been here so many times and understanding what it takes to get where we’re ultimately trying to go,” Adams said. “We’re close, and we’ve just got to finish it off.”

Although Adams has been waiting the longest, he’s far from the only Rams player who will be playing for a chance at a Super Bowl debut when they face the top-seeded Seahawks for the third time this season.

Sean McVay led the Rams to a championship four seasons ago, but only a handful of players are left from that team — just two on defense.

Matthew Stafford, tight end Tyler Higbee and cornerback Darious Williams are the only players left who made major contributions to that Super Bowl title run and also played extensively for the current team. Williams left and returned to the Rams, as did linebacker Troy Reeder and center Coleman Shelton.

Reeder now plays mostly special teams, while Shelton and starting left tackle Alaric Jackson were backups in 2021. Receiver Tutu Atwell was injured as a rookie and right tackle Rob Havenstein is injured now.

But nobody has been waiting longer than Adams for his first shot at a championship ring. He is one of the most consistent receivers of his generation, posting eight seasons with at least 997 yards while moving up to 26th in NFL history with 12,633 yards.

He almost certainly would have recorded another 1,000-yard season with Los Angeles, but Adams injured his hamstring in December. The Rams fell out of the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC during his three-game absence to close the regular season, most notably blowing a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter in Seattle.

Adams has been vocal about the rejuvenating effect of working with Stafford and McVay, but he also knows his career is closer to its end than its beginning. After struggling along with his entire offense during an OT victory last week at Chicago, he’s hoping to play a major role in what’s likely to be a career-defining game in Seattle.

“I started off with a great experience with the Packers and didn’t have anything else to compare it to, so you kind of, in a sense, take it for granted,” Adams said. “I don’t think I was taking it for granted, but you go to a situation where you struggle a little bit more in Vegas, and I was blessed to still have a lot of great football there and a lot of great times, but in terms of winning and playing meaningful games, obviously we weren’t in that position.

“Being back in a position where you’re with a great team and a great situation, you definitely have a greater appreciation for times like this, for sure.”

NOTES: The Rams only held a walkthrough practice at their training complex. … LB Byron Young (knee soreness) wouldn’t have practiced if the Rams had a full workout, McVay said. But Young, the Rams’ sacks leader, is still expected to play Sunday. … S Quentin Lake stayed home with an illness.

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