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Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) – The Los Angeles Rams narrowly avoided a massive upset thanks to their MVP-caliber quarterback.
The Rams held off the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, advancing to the Divisional Round with a 34-31 win. Matthew Stafford drove the Rams 71 yards down the field for a drive that concluded with a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Matthew Stafford delivers a game-winning drive worthy of MVP
A blocked punt had helped the Panthers to the lead with 2:38 left, and the Rams took over at their own 29-yard line in need of a touchdown to win. Stafford was surgical, working short passes to Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, getting quickly to the Carolina 30 with 1:15 left.
A short pass to Konata Mumpfield set them up at the 19, and Stafford threw a beauty of a pass to the right pylon, with tight end Colby Parkinson making a spinning catch and landing in the end zone to silence the Bank of America Stadium crowd of 73,426 for the lead with 38 seconds left.
After struggling in the middle of the game, Stafford was 12-of-15 for 143 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Stafford had 46 touchdowns in the regular season – easily the most in the NFL – but that’s all a footnote if the Rams lose in the opening round of the playoffs. Instead, he threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns and the Rams are alive to fight again in another round.
Matthew Stafford connects with Colby Parkinson for 19-yard TD, giving Rams late lead over Panthers | NFL Highlights
2. Bryce Young showed up in the second half
Carolina, a 10-point home underdog coming into the game that was down 10 in the second quarter, rallied back for the lead in the fourth quarter before the special teams showed up in a big way. A blocked punt set up the Panthers deep in Rams territory, with Young connecting with reveiver Jalen Coker for a seven-yard touchdown with less than three minutes left.
Young and Coker each had monster games, including a 52-yard connection earlier in the game. Coker finished with nine catches for 134 yards, coming out of the shadow of rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who still had five catches for 81 yards, for a breakout performance.
Young had already beaten the Rams this season back on Nov. 30 for a win that helped Carolina pull off an unlikely division win. His overall numbers weren’t amazing – 21-for-40 for 264 yards and a single touchdown and an interception – but he showed he can compete on this stage opposite the presumptive NFL MVP in Stafford.
3. Maybe the NFC South wasn’t that terrible
Yes, the NFC South had a champion with a losing record, but if there was one thing to say about a bad division, they showed they could be giant-killers.
Carolina entered tonight having already beaten the Rams and Packers, while the Buccaneers won at Houston and Seattle and beat the 49ers. Even the Falcons beat the Bills and the Rams.
All the talk about taking away automatic home games for division champs rings hollow when a team shows up as Carolina did. You can argue the home field played a role in how well the Panthers played, but as a 10-point home underdog, they took a stand for bad division winners everywhere.
4. Has ‘going for it’ gone too far?
NFL coaches being bolder and going for it more often is great for TV and fans and erring on the side of excitement, but could it be that they’ve collectively gotten too aggressive for their own good?
The Rams were up 17-7 with less than 2 minutes left in the first half, facing fourth-and-3 at the Carolina 19-yard line – and they went for it. Stafford’s pass was incomplete, which led to the Panthers go down the field and for a touchdown to make it a 17-14 game at halftime.
Now, that’s a worst-case scenario for the Rams and an unlikely outcome, but why not just take three points and a 20-7 lead and trust that your defense can get the job done? Instead, you gave a team that had been lifeless a genuine spark before halftime and let the game get much closer than it needed to be.
It was the same deal for Carolina late in the third quarter when it faced a fourth-and-4 at Rams’ 48. The Panthers defense had played well, but the Panthers went for it. The pass was incomplete, giving Los Angeles the ball near midfield instead of forcing the Rams to drive the length of the field and playing a game of field position.
5. Give credit to the Panthers’ crowd
This was Carolina’s first home playoff game in 10 years, a chance to show how well Charlotte has backed its team in its rise from winning two games two years ago. And the stadium felt like it, from former Panther great Cam Newton on the field in pregame to the energy to the Panthers getting back in the game before halftime.
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
We don’t really expect the Rams to travel well across the country, but the crowd noise was a factor for the Panthers, an energy the team fed off as they kept sticking around.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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