Takeaways from Panthers’ biggest win of year: Carolina owns second half vs. Rams
The Carolina Panthers’ Jekyll and Hyde nature was in full force on Sunday in a gigantic 31-28 win against the Los Angeles Rams at Bank of America Stadium.
Six days after an embarrassing 20-9 loss in prime time against the San Francisco 49ers, Dave Canales and his crew put together a stunning performance against the top team in the conference on their home turf. It was unquestionably the biggest home win of the David Tepper era.
The defense picked off Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice in the first half, and the Panthers’ run game bounced back from a forgettable outing against the 49ers. But most importantly, quarterback Bryce Young was able to make a pair of huge throws on fourth down for explosive touchdowns in the second half.
The 5-foot-10, 204-pound quarterback’s clutch nature was on display after he hit wideout Tetairoa McMillan for 43-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2 with less than 7 minutes remaining in the game.
A timely strip sack by Pro Bowl lineman Derrick Brown on Stafford put the ball back in the hands of the Carolina offense. With Chuba Hubbard shining with vigor against the Rams, Canales used Hubbard to burn the clock before Young completed a third-down toss to Jalen Coker to take them to the two-minute warning.
Now, the Panthers are 7-6 heading into their long-awaited bye week. They’ll enter a final four-game stretch looking to unseat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) — who they play twice — as NFC South champions.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s home win:
Three turnovers tell the story of a huge upset
Ejiro Evero had a lot to hang his hat on Sunday, as his defense produced three huge turnovers against Stafford and the Rams. Those turnovers ended up squandering a Los Angeles offense that had four touchdowns drives on the road.
Despite giving up the quartet of touchdowns, Evero’s unit made big plays when it mattered. And it might have been the most impressive feat of the season for the unit, as it was without three notable starters on the back end.
The Panthers’ defense was able to keep the matchup competitive in the first half because of a pair of huge interceptions that impacted the scoreboard.
First, the Rams surged back into the red zone on their second drive of the game, but Brown was able to tip a pass by Stafford and the ball was corralled in the end zone for an interception by safety Nick Scott. That turnover took away at least three points from Los Angeles, as the Rams were at the Carolina 8-yard line.
On the next drive, cornerback Mike Jackson jumped a route by wideout Puka Nacua and intercepted a pass from Stafford before heading all the way to the end zone. That turnover created seven points for the Panthers in a first half when the Rams never punted. So, in essence, the Panthers created at least a 10-point swing on the back-to-back picks.
Stafford had thrown 28 consecutive touchdown passes before he was intercepted by Scott on Sunday. Jackson’s pick-six buried that streak even further.
Despite those turnovers, though, Stafford was still able to challenge the Panthers’ defense with a mixture of throws. With Carolina missing Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn, safety Tre’von Moerhig and linebacker Christian Rozeboom at home, Stafford was able to take advantage of mismatches against the Panthers’ fill-in depth.
He completed a pair of touchdown passes to wideout Davante Adams in the first half and led a third scoring drive that was capped by a touchdown from running back Blake Corum, taking a 21-17 lead to halftime.
After not punting throughout the first half, Carolina forced Rams punter Ethan Evans onto the field in the middle of the third quarter. A well-timed and poorly blocked blitz by rookie safety Lathan Ransom, on second-and-6, put the Rams behind the chains on third down, and they were eventually forced off the field with the Panthers up by three points.
Corum and fellow running back Kyren Williams both broke big runs to start the fourth quarter to put the Rams in Carolina territory while playing from behind. Even as the home crowd tried to will on the defense, Stafford was able to push Los Angeles down the field.
Stafford hit Nacua on a 30-yard strike that was caught one-handed by the wideout. That big play was then followed up by a 7-yard touchdown run by Williams, as the Rams regained the lead, 28-24, with 9:58 left in the game.
After the Panthers’ offense was able to answer with the huge TD completion from Young to McMillan, the defense gave an answer of its own to close out the contest. Brown, who tipped the Stafford pass earlier in the game for an interception, produced a strip sack that was recovered by outside linebacker DJ Wonnum.
That turnover essentially ended the game.
Stafford completed 18 of 28 passes for 243 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had the costly fourth-quarter fumble and was sacked twice.
Bryce Young makes huge throws with game on the line
It was a tale of two halves for Young. In the first half, he guided the offense. In the second half, he orchestrated it.
The third-year QB didn’t make any mistakes and made big plays when his number was called, even in the tightest of circumstances. His ability to make clutch plays down the stretch was once again put on display.
Young was mostly a game manager in the first half as the Panthers tried to establish the run game. He threw just 11 passes in the first two quarters, but he had a pair of impressive plays on a couple of scoring drives.
On the opening drive, he connected with Coker in traffic toward the sideline for a 15-yard gain. The Panthers would later score on a swing pass from Young to running back Hubbard for a 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown. It was a strong, balanced opening series for the Carolina offense.
Young pick up 24 rushing yards on a scramble in the second quarter. That big gain eventually set up a 33-yard field goal for kicker Ryan Fitzgerald.
Young completed 63.6% of his passes for 80 yards and touchdown in the first half. The bulk of the total (50 yards and a touchdown) were produced on two passes.
The quarterback’s game manager function was left behind in the second half. He made a pair of impressive throws to Coker on a 10-play, 71-yard drive to start the third quarter. After connecting on a crossing route over the middle to start the series, Young went back to Coker on fourth-and-3 for a phenomenal anticipation throw that guided the wideout 33 yards to the end zone. The toss was one of the best heaves of Young’s career, and arguably his most impressive downfield strike of his third season.
The Rams came roaring back to take the lead in the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive, so Young was in need of some of his fourth-quarter magic. And he delivered.
On fourth-and-2 from the Los Angeles 43-yard line, Young heaved a beautiful rainbow toss down the field to McMillan for a touchdown. Again, Young used his arm and anticipation to lead a receiver to end zone on fourth-and-short against an NFC titan. His poise and trust in his weapons led to success that eluded him against the 49ers on Monday.
Young completed 15 of 20 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. His fourth-down heaves to Coker and McMillan for touchdowns will go down as major highlights for the polarizing passer. And to Canales’ credit, the head coach let Young cook when it mattered the most. That shows trust on both ends of the spectrum.
This is something to build on down the stretch.
RB timeshare takes interesting turn
The Panthers took a different approach to their running back rotation in Week 13. Rico Dowdle started, and Hubbard was heavily sprinkled into the backfield. While Canales had previously had the two backs rotate series, the play-caller weaved both of them into drives repeatedly.
Hubbard impressed early with his touches, picking up 37 rushing yards on seven carries (5.3 YPC) and 42 receiving yards and a touchdown on two catches in the first half. Dowdle, who got off to a bit of slow start, finished the first half with 28 rushing yards on seven carries and eight yards on one catch.
The Panthers had 14 running back carries in the first half against the Rams. They had nine total throughout last week’s loss to the 49ers.
As rain started to pour down on Bank of America Stadium in the second half, Canales leaned on Hubbard to great success. Hubbard picked up 44 rushing yards on nine carries during the first two drives after halftime.
Hubbard finished with 83 rushing yards, 41 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown on 19 total touches. Dowdle collected 58 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards on 20 total touches.
This felt like the right mix for the duo. They equally split the workload and each guy got to shine on a variety of plays.
Panthers don’t need to rely solely on McMillan to succeed
McMillan didn’t catch a pass against the Rams until there was 6:43 left in the fourth quarter. Granted, that target was huge, as it went for a 43-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2 to take the late lead.
But the first-round pick was targeted just once before that explosive touchdown score. And yet, the Panthers took a 24-21 lead into the final period of the game. Similarly, Xavier Legette was scarcely used as a pass-catcher, reeling in just one catch for one yard in the first three quarters.
It was Coker who handled the bulk of the big plays in the passing game early on. He caught three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown in the first three quarters, as the Panthers took their second-half lead. Otherwise, Hubbard was only playmaker to eclipse 30 receiving yards before the fourth quarter.
The Panthers relied on their running game to get down the field, and Young did a nice job of trusting Coker on big plays. Canales also got the tight ends regularly involved as blockers and receivers.
It won’t be the recipe every week, but Canales did a nice job of keeping the game competitive with his strategy of spreading the ball around and riding the run game, especially as rain began to fall in the second half.
The Rams, for now, are the class of the NFC, and with a little help from the defense, Canales was able to keep the game in reach through the fourth quarter.
Coker finished with four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. McMillan had the one catch for 43 yards and a touchdown. Eight different receivers were targeted by Young in the game.
Trevor Etienne has arrived as a returner
The fourth-round pick has shown flashes of brilliance as a returner this season. But on Sunday, he showed consistent burst as a ball-carrier. The former Georgia Bulldogs running back collected 22.3 yards per attempt on kickoffs and picked up 15 yards on a punt return.
With the Panthers starting to experiment even further with their offense, it’d be nice to see Etienne sprinkled into the mix a bit more down the stretch. Etienne has only received 23 touches for 107 total yards through 13 games.
Given his lack of action on offense to this point, perhaps he could be a lightly scouted weapon during the final four games of the year after the bye week.
This story was originally published November 30, 2025 at 4:17 PM.
