When it comes to the postseason, all that matters is the final score.
While the Panthers entered wild card weekend as significant underdogs, they didn’t play like it — giving the Rams all they could handle to open the 2025 postseason.
But in the end, the Rams survived and advanced, as Los Angeles defeated Carolina, 34-31.
The Rams built a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Panthers scored a pair of touchdowns in the period. With an L.A. field goal, the Rams were up 17-14 at halftime.
After the two teams traded field goals in the third quarter, Carolina took its first lead of the contest early in the fourth with a 3-yard run by Chuba Hubbard. The Rams came back to go up 27-24 with Matthew Stafford’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Williams.
But then the special teams issues that have plagued L.A. all season once again came up, as Isaiah Simmons blocked a punt to set up the Panthers at the Rams’ 30-yard line. Bryce Young connected with Jalen Coker for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 31-27 lead with just 2:39 on the clock.
That, however, was plenty of time for Stafford and the Rams, who steadily got the ball into Carolina territory. Though Stafford struggled at points in the contest, he delivered a catchable ball on the right side to tight end Colby Parkinson, who made an outstanding play to come down with it, get two feet in, and break the plane for a go-ahead score.
While the Panthers got the ball back with three timeouts, they had just 32 seconds left from their own 28. Young threw four straight incompletions for a final turnover on downs, with the Rams securing the victory.
Stafford ended the contest 24-of-42 for 304 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Nacua led L.A. with 10 catches and 111 yards, scoring two touchdowns on the day — one receiving and one rushing. In his first game back from a hamstring injury, Davante Adams finished with five receptions for 72 yards.
Young played well, finishing the contest 21-of-40 for 264 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also had a 16-yard touchdown run late in the first half. Jalen Coker caught nine passes for 134 yards with a TD. Star rookie Tetairoa McMillan finished with five catches for 81 yards.
With the win, the Rams will advance to the divisional round. Los Angeles will find out its next opponent with the result of Sunday’s matchup between No. 6 San Francisco and No. 3 Philadelphia.
Rams Clips
The Rams are back on top.
After going down 24-20 early in the fourth quarter, Matthew Stafford connected with Kyren Williams for a 13-yard touchdown to put Los Angeles up 27-24 over Carolina with 8:47 left in regulation.
The touchdown capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive that took 5:47 off the clock.
Davante Adams had the chunk play on the drive, catching a pass over the middle for a 23-yard gain to put the Rams in Panthers territory.
After Puka Nacua had to break up a near-interception from Stafford in the end zone, the Rams converted fourth-and-1 with a 2-yard run by Williams. Then Stafford converted the next third-and-1 with a rare QB sneak.
A play later, Stafford hit Williams over the middle for the score to give the Rams a three-point lead.
The Panthers have scored on two of their three second-half possessions. We’ll see if they put up more points on their fourth.
Don’t look now, but the Panthers have a fourth-quarter lead.
After Mike Jackson picked off Matthew Stafford on third-and-long, Chuba Hubbard put the ball in the box for his second touchdown to give Carolina a 24-20 lead with 14:34 remaining in the contest.
Jackson undercut a route to the left by Davante Adams to intercept Stafford. He also had a pick-six off of Stafford during the Panthers’ regular-season victory over the Rams.
Bryce Young then hit Jalen Coker with a 52-yard pass to end the third quarter, setting the Panthers up inside the Los Angeles 10.
A couple of plays later, Hubbard was in the end zone to give Carolina its first lead of the contest.
Since the Panthers muffed a punt late in the second quarter, they have thoroughly outplayed the Rams. We’ll see if they can keep it up to pull off a major upset to start wild card weekend.
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.
The Rams will not have one of their young tight ends for Saturday’s wild card matchup against the Panthers.
Rookie Terrance Ferguson is officially inactive for the game after he was listed as questionable for the contest. Ferguson was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday and Wednesday before a limited session on Thursday.
Cornerback Josh Wallace (ankle) is also inactive for Los Angeles after he was listed as quesitonable.
Right guard Kevin Dotson (ankle) and receiver Jordan Whittington (knee) were previously ruled out.
The Panthers, however, have a healthy 53-man roster.
Los Angeles’ full list of inactives is: Ferguson, Dotson, Wallace, Whittington, cornerback Deion Kendrick, cornerback Darious Williams, and quarterback Stetson Bennett.
Carolina’s inactives are linebacker Krys Barnes, center Nick Samac, defensive tackle Jared Harrison-Hunte, receiver David Moore, and defensive end LaBryan Ray.
Kickoff between the Rams and Panthers is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
The Dolphins haven’t been to a Super Bowl since their coach’s last name was Shula. So why not interview a coach with the last name Shula?
Per multiple reports, the Dolphins have requested permission to interview Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. He’s the grandson of legendary Dolphins coach Don Shula.
Chris, 39, joined the Rams in 2017, as part of head coach Sean McVay’s initial staff. Shula became the defensive coordinator in 2024, replacing former Falcons head coach Raheem Moore.
Chris Shula is also the son of David Shula, who was hired to coach the Bengals at the age of 33. He went 19-52 in four-plus seasons.
Don, of course, is the all-time winningest coach in pro football history, with 328 regular-season wins and 347 total wins, including the postseason.
He became head coach of the Colts at 33, taking them to Super Bowl III. After joining the Dolphins in 1970, Don Shula led Miami to three straight Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII. His 1972 team went 17-0.
The Rams finished 17th in total defense, allowing 327.5 yards per game. They were tenth in points allowed, at 20.4. They begin their 2025 playoff run later today, with a wild-card game at Carolina.
