Recap and Reaction: Panthers shock the world and beat Rams

The Carolina Panthers continue to defy all odds in every direction as they took down the Los Angeles Rams.

Any expectations of a blowout seemed to get reaffirmed by the way the game started. The Rams got a big return into Panthers territory to open the game, and a Panthers penalty added another 15 yards to that. A couple of passes to Puka Nacua and a short pass to a tight end quickly set the Rams up on the doorstep of the endzone. There, Matthew Stafford found his favorite red zone target, Davante Adams, on a quick slant for an easy touchdown.

To the Panthers’ credit, they responded. They leaned heavily on the ground game with Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard. They went to the air on a 3rd and long, and Bryce Young found Jalen Coker on a comeback to keep the drive alive. When faced with that same situation a few plays later, Young hit Chuba Hubbard on a swing pass. Unlike on Monday night, he actually got blocks from his teammates and raced up the sideline for the game tying touchdown.

A long pass to Davante Adams took the Rams deep into Panthers territory again. After a few short plays got the Rams inside the ten, Stafford took to the air on third down. Derrick Brown got his face in the passing lane, and the ball deflected over to Nick Scott, who became the first player to intercept Matthew Stafford in months. But as learned Monday night, the Panthers don’t do well with other teams’ turnovers. They went three and out and punted the ball right back.

That put the Rams right where they wanted them. After a couple of runs, Matthew Stafford threw a comeback to Puka Nacua, but it was jumped by Mike Jackson, who picked the pass off and raced up the right sideline for a touchdown. The Panthers took a 14-7 lead against the best team in the NFL.

The second quarter started with the Rams just outside the red zone after a long pass to Xavier Smith and big run from Blake Corum ended the first quarter. After a couple of short completions, Stafford extended a play to create enough time to find Davante Adams in the endzone again for his second touchdown of the game.

The Panthers leaned on Hubbard and he picked up a first down with a couple powerful runs. With the Rams focused on Hubbard, Dave Canales called a fake toss that left Bryce Young all by himself on the backside. He cruised for a 24 yard gain into Rams territory. The Panthers were faced with a 4th and 1 a few plays later, and Rico Dowdle was able to pick it up on a toss play. A holding penalty by Mitchell Evans wiped out a decent carry by Chuba Hubbard on the next play, and the Panthers couldn’t pick up the 20 yards required for a first down, so they settled for a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal.

It didn’t take long for the Rams to jump right back into scoring territory. Stafford found Smith open behind the defense for a 51 yard gain on the drive’s fourth play, which set the Rams up on the 18 yard line. They went to the ground game to bleed clock down to the two minute warning while approaching the goal line. On the first play after the stoppage, Blake Corum powered through a number of potential tacklers to break the plane and put the Rams up 21-17.

The Panthers had a chance to score before getting the second half kickoff, but they could not. They picked up a first down with a strong Dowdle run, but the drive stalled out. Young overthrew Legette on the sideline then was sacked on second down. Both teams were content to take the game to the half after that.

The Panthers called five straight runs to start the second half before counting on Young’s arm to pick up a 3rd and medium, which he got with a slant to Jalen Coker. After a few more runs, the Panthers were faced with a 4th and 3. With the Rams stacking the box, Young went over the top to Coker, who reeled it in for the 33 yard touchdown.

The deteriorating Charlotte weather started to have an effect on the game. The Rams called a couple handoffs, but their drive was undermined by a Lathan Ransom sack on a safety blitz. Stafford missed Adams on a long third down, and the Rams punted. The Panthers went back to Chuba on the ground, and he picked up an unlikely 3rd and 3 with a powerful run. He kept getting fed, and he kept requiring half the Rams’ defense to tackle him on almost every run. The third quarter ended with the Panthers driving deep into Rams’ territory.

The quarter change seemed to kill the momentum. Ja’Tavion Sanders was called for a maybe questionable hold on the first play of the quarter then Young was sacked on the next. The drive that dominated the third quarter ended in a punt.

Blake Corum took a handoff on the first play and was sprung by a crunching block by Jordan Whittington to help him race 34 yards up the right side. That was the first of a series of successful runs before a deep pass to Puka Nacua was reeled in with one of the best catches that you’ll ever see. On the next play, Kyren Williams punched in the touchdown.

The Panthers got a first down pickup on a swing pass to Rico Dowdle where he was able to make a Rams defender miss in space. They were faced with another 4th and short just across midfield. Just as they did on the previous fourth down, they aired it out deep. Tetairoa McMillan got behind the defense, and young found him for the 43 yard touchdown to put the Panthers back ahead.

A few modest gains were followed by a long pass from Stafford to Adams and another physically impressive catch by Nacua to get the Rams into the redzone. After a couple of run stops and a Rams delay of game, the Panthers just needed a stop on 3rd and 10 to force a field goal. Instead, Derrick Brown broke through the line to hit Stafford and jar the ball loose. It was picked up by DJ Wonnum and run back out to midfield with just 2:25 left in the game.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the celebration of the turnover backed the offense up to the 34 yard line, but the offense could make that irrelevant with a first down. After a couple of short Dowdle runs, the Panthers went to the air, and Young again found Coker across the middle to pick up the first down and ice the game.

The 2025 Carolina Panthers continue to make no sense. After a dud on Monday Night Football, Dave Canales got the boys up to take down the best team in the NFL, and one that had looked borderline unstoppable in the last month or two. The Panthers dominated on the ground, and Chuba Hubbard in particular looked like his 2024 self. The Panthers turned to Bryce Young in a few high leverage spots, mainly on third and fourth downs, and he delivered every time. He was confident and decisive and delivered a couple of beautiful deep passes that he was not throwing this season.

The defense rose to the challenge of one of the most potent offenses in the league. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but there wouldn’t be any expectation for that given the strength of the opponent. They needed to make splash plays, and they did that. They forced three turnovers off Matthew Stafford. One led directly to Panthers points, and the other two came in scoring territory and essentially took points off the board for the Rams.

This unlikely win makes the playoffs a very real possibility. The Panthers get a bye this weekend before they take on the Saints in a couple of weeks. There are two games against the Buccaneers to come, so the Panthers control their own destiny.