Mike Macdonald knows he has a great football team because it can beat any team in any style of game.

And the Seahawks are so resilient that they can give up a franchise-record 581 yards, go minus-3 in turnover margin, trail by 16 midway through the fourth quarter and still rally to beat the “other best team” in the NFL with a two-point conversion in overtime.

That’s what the Hawks did to the Rams in a wild 38-37 comeback that (a) clinched a playoff spot, (b) gave the Hawks control of the No. 1 seed and (c) got the Big Game Monkey off Sam Darnold’s back.

Macdonald said he was “really, really proud” of his team for overcoming all of the negatives in the massive NFL battle royale.

“What a friggin’ football team you guys are,” he told his players afterward. “What a freaking football team, man! We’re the freaking Seahawks! Let’s go!”

He had every reason to be pumped up.

It was the first time in NFL history any team had won despite giving 500 yards, turning the ball over three times and not taking the ball away. It also was the first time a Seattle squad had rallied from a deficit of 15 points or more in the fourth quarter. Previous versions of the Seahawks had been 0-172 in those circumstances.

It had the vibe of an NFC championship game – and also shades of the Seahawks’ incredible rally over the Packers back in January 2015.

There is a good chance these teams will meet again in the playoffs – one way or another.

The Hawks have the standard mini-bye now before heading to Carolina in Week 17 and then finishing at San Francisco in Week 18. That game actually could be another on the scale of this one. If the Hawks take out the Panthers and if the 49ers beat the Colts and Bears the next two weeks, the season finale will be for the No. 1 seed.

Assuming the Hawks get the bye, they could face the Rams again in the divisional round or the NFC title game.

That’s why they need to figure out what the heck happened with their defense in this crazy game. Their defensive line was locked out of the backfield for much of it, and the secondary had tons of gaps and blown coverages even before losing three guys to injury. It was worse even than the 38-35 loss to the Bucs back in Week 5.

In the 21-19 loss to the Rams in Week 11, Seattle held Matthew Stafford to 130 passing yards. The Rams won because Darnold threw four picks.

This time, even without Davante Adams, Stafford threw for 457 yards and three scores, averaging 9.3 yards per pass. Puka Nacua caught 12 passes for 225 yards – the second most by a Seattle foe ever – and scored twice, including the go-ahead 41-yard score in overtime.

“It wasn’t good enough on the defensive front. We know that,” Macdonald said. “Puca’s a great player. He made some great contested catches that you’ve got to kind of chalk it up to him being a great player and they’re going to win some of those. And there are some where we’ve got to play tremendously better as well. So I would say it’s a combination. But obviously you can’t give up 200-yard games to anybody.”

The Rams had receivers running open across the middle of the field for most of the game — Sean McVay’s well-documented 13 personnel causing some fits for the Hawks this time.

“They had a great game plan,” Macdonald said. “They’re elite coaches over there. They do a great job. They execute at a high level, and they’ve got great players. We’ve got to play better. I’ve got to game plan better.  

“We gave up a ton of yards and a ton of points, and we’ve gotta be better. But the fight is there. We figured out a way to win. Just like we said last week (vs. the Colts). It was a completely different game last week. Great teams figure out a way to win. This week was completely different, and we still figured it out.”

As Darnold said, “We’re a very resilient, relentless group and we just continue to go. … We can win in all facets.”

Darnold’s revenge

After Darnold threw the four picks in the first meeting, we mentioned that if he had just played a “normal” game for him – two picks instead – the Hawks would have won that game.

Well, this time he did throw just two picks. And the Hawks won – because he led them on four touchdown drives and hit a pair of two-point conversions (and the odd backward pass that Zach Charbonnet got credit for as a two-point rush).

Darnold said, “It’s not great when you have interceptions and turnovers – you want to limit that. But all you can do is fight back.”

Seahawks fans and NFL observers have been waiting for Darnold to win a game like this, but Macdonald said he never questioned whether the quarterback was capable of big wins.

“Our story has stayed the same since Day 1 with Sam. It’s everybody else that has different stories. This is the guy that we watch every day. He’s the same guy every day, no matter the circumstance. He’s an ultimate competitor. He’s a phenomenal leader. … We weren’t worried about it one bit.”

Shaheed’s spark

The Hawks need to do whatever it takes to keep Rashid Shaheed beyond this season.

The midseason trade pickup has become a major contributor over the past few games, and he gave his team a jolt when it needed it most in this game.

When the Hawks trailed 30-14 midway through the fourth quarter, they had less than a 3% chance of winning, according to NextGen Stats.

Never tell Shaheed the odds though. Just as everyone watching was about ready to give up (and the Rams apparently thought the win was in the bag), he sparked the comeback with a 58-yard punt return. It was his second return TD in three weeks.

He is just the fourth player in Seahawks history to score off a kickoff and punt return in the same season. Tyler Lockett (2015), Nate Burleson (2007) and Charlie Rogers (1999) were the others to do it.

Julian Love said, “When we got Rashid this year, it gave us a whole new sense of focus and energy on special teams, just knowing that he can return a kick at any moment.”

He also had a 31-yard end around on the next possession that put the Hawks in position to tie it 30-30. Two plays for 89 yards, a touchdown and another TD setter. That’s some incredible impact.

Walker runs

Kenneth Walker III had his best game of the season, tallying 164 yards from scrimmage and scoring a touchdown.

He started it off with a 46-yard gain on a screen play — the best screen the Seahawks have run in years. That set up Charbonnet for his ninth TD run of the year.

Walker got his own touchdown in the third quarter, bursting through the right side of the line and down the sideline for a 55-yarder.

He finished with 100 rushing yards — just his second 100-yard game of the season.

The Hawks finished with 171 yards rushing — second only to the 198 they put on Arizona in Week 10.

“I believe we just executed better,” Walker said, “All week we talked about the run game and ways that we can spring it open, so the execution was much better this week.”