The Rams had a lot of things go in their favor in the first half, but they have just a 17-14 lead over the Panthers at halftime.
Though Los Angeles was a heavy favorite entering Saturday’s game, Carolina has been able to hang around, particularly making a couple of key plays late in the half.
While Trevor Etienne muffed a punt that the Rams recovered with a chance to increase their lead in the second quarter, there ended up being no damage done. Matthew Stafford’s pass on fourth-and-3 from the Carolina 19 to Tyler Higbee was low, broken up, and incomplete.
From there, the Panthers went 81 yards in just five plays to cut the Rams’ lead to just three points. Bryce Young connected with Jalen Coker for a 37-yard pass down to the 16-yard line. From there, Young evaded pressure on third-and-10 and ran it into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.
The Rams looked like they would at least get points in response when Stafford tossed a deep ball to Puka Nacua down the right sideline. But the usually sure-handed receiver dropped it to keep the score at 17-14.
Young was 11-of-20 for 151 yards with an interception in the first half.
Stafford was 10-of-17 for 137 yards with one touchdown in the first 30 minutes. Nacua caught six of his 10 targets for 63 yards with one touchdown. He also had a 5-yard touchdown on what was a backward pass from Stafford that gave the Rams a 14-0 lead at the time.
On the injury front, Panthers right guard Robert Hunt is questionable to return with a pectoral injury. Austin Corbett came in to replace him. Carolina is also down left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who is out with a knee injury suffered during the first quarter.
With momentum on the Panthers side, the Rams will get the ball first to start the second half. While they have 214 yards, the Rams have gone just 1-of-6 on third down. Improving that mark will be key to staving off a big upset in the wild card round.
The Panthers are on the board.
Chuba Hubbard punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7, Rams, with 8:53 left in the second quarter.
The Panthers took just seven plays to go 65 yards, taking 3:23 off the clock on their first scoring drive of the day.
After throwing an interception on Carolina’s previous possession, Bryce Young connected on a 15-yard pass to Jalen Coker to push the Panthers into Rams territory. Then Young hit consecutive passes of 14 and 22 yards to Tetairoa McMillan to put the ball at Los Angeles’ 11-yard line.
Cobie Durant was flagged for defensive pass interference on third-and-2 from the L.A. 3 when he didn’t get his head turned around to play the ball on a pass in the end zone to Zavier Legette.
With the ball at the 1-yard line on the net play, Hubbard got into the end zone for Carolina’s first points of the day.
Earlier on the drive, Panthers right guard Robert Hunt had to exit the contest and go into the sideline medical tent.
The Rams have taken advantage of a Panthers giveaway to increase their lead.
Matthew Stafford hit Puka Nacua with a backward pass for the receiver’s second touchdown of the contest, giving Los Angeles a 14-0 advantage.
Los Angeles picked up its first takeaway of the game on first-and-10 from the L.A. 44, as Bryce Young’s pass intended for Jalen Coker was tipped by Quentin Lake and picked off by Cobie Durant. He returned it 11 yards, but the Rams got 15 more from an unnecessarily roughness penalty called on tight end Mitchell Evans.
From there, the Rams converted third-and-2 with a pass from Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua to bring up first-and-goal from the 9-yard line.
Nacua then scored on a short, backward pass to the left, breaking tackles to get in the end zone for his second touchdown reception of the game.
Stafford has started the game 6-of-6 for 74 yards. Five of his six passes have gone to Nacua for 59 yards.
The Panthers have a significant developing injury situation along their offensive line during the first half of their wild card matchup with the Rams.
Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu has been ruled out with a knee injury.
Ekwonu went down on Carolina’s second possession on a second-down sack. Via reporters on the scene, Ekwonu was able to walk off gingerly before heading to the sideline medical tent. The FOX broadcast subsequently showed Ekwonu being driven to the locker room on the back of a cart for further evaluation. The Panthers ruled him out quickly thereafter.
Ekwonu started 15 games for the Panthers this season.
Yosh Nijman entered the game at left tackle to replace Ekwonu.
The Rams were heavy favorites for Saturday’s wild card matchup with the Panthers.
So far, they look the part.
Matthew Stafford hit Puka Nacua for a 14-yard touchdown, giving Los Angeles an early 7-0 lead.
The Panthers received the opening kickoff and with an aggressive mindset, went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 45-yard line. But But Carolina didn’t get it when Bryce Young’s pass short pass along the right sideline was broken up by Quentin Lake — who was out due to injury for the regular-season matchup between the two teams.
With a short field in front of them, the Rams faced little resistance getting down the field in just four plays. Nacua caught all three of Stafford’s targets for 40 yards on the possession, with Kyren Williams also taking a 5-yard carry.
The Rams did not face a third down on the possession.
