Wild Card win a stern test for Rams

(News4UOnline) – The best way to describe the Los Angeles Rams’ win against the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Wild Card playoff win is that they survived. 

Just like their Week 13 encounter with the Panthers, the Rams had to do some tight dancing with their NFC partner. 

This time around, unlike what happened the first time they faced Carolina,  the Rams got the best of the Panthers, securing a road win, thanks to a miracle whip of a pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to tight end Colby Parkinson late in the fourth quarter. 

The Rams prevailed with a 34-31 victory. But make no mistake about it, the Panthers, who were 10-point underdogs coming into the game, stretched and tested the Rams’ resilience just about every which way possible. 

And it seemed like whenever the defense of the Rams decided to bum rush Bryce Young, the Carolina quarterback didn’t appear to blink. And if the Rams are to make it past the divisional round, surrendering 31 points to the opposition on the road does not make for a good recipe to win in the postseason. 

Unless you already have a Super Bowl-winning quarterback like Stafford at your disposal. When the Rams needed their pocket gunslinger to come through for them, he did while under the duress of the Carolina pass rush as time seemed to wind down on their season. 

Officially, the stat sheet called it a 19-yard pass play for a touchdown from Stafford to Parkinson with 38 seconds left in the game. However, when you examine the play more closely, both Stafford and Parkinson combined to complete an incredulous play. 

First, probably only Stafford would have been able to whip that pass on a tight rope to Parkinson the way that he did. Parkinson then used some ballet-like skills to dance along the sideline to get into the endzone to complete the play to give the Rams the final lead of the night. 

Stafford, who is up MVP consideration, played exceptionally for most of the night, completing 24 of 42 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning throw. Stafford attempted 31 of those passes in the direction of Davante Adams and Puka Nacua while completing 57 percent of his throws. 

This game became close because the Rams made it close. After jumping all over the Panthers early, the Rams were in position to extend their lead in the second quarter from 17-7 to possibly 20-7 with a field goal or 24-7 if they could punch in a touchdown. Instead of kicking the field goal, the Rams decided to go for it on a 4th-and-3. 

A Stafford pass bounced off the turf, and Young then led Carolina down the field to score to close the scoring gap to make it a 17-14 game going into halftime. Behind Young, Carolina scored 17 points in the second half, including scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to take their first lead of the game. 

The magic of Stafford and Parkinson’s combined acrobatics allows the Rams to advance to the next round, but LA has some cleaning up to do. There was a special teams blunder (blocked punt), Stafford threw an interception, and LA’s vaunted defense had a hard time figuring out Young and Carolina’s offense.

On the flip side, Nacua had another great game with 10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. The presence of Adams helped open the field up for Stafford and the offense. Adams looked a little rusty in his return to the field after being out trying to recuperate from a hamstring injury. 

His five catches for 72 yards, though, was more than enough to create space for Nacua and other receivers. At the end of the day, the Rams survived to play another football game. They are moving on. Carolina and all their valiant efforts are one and done.   

Cover Photo: CHARLOTTE, NC – JANUARY 10: Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) runs with the ball after a reception during the NFC Wildcard playoff game against the Carolina Panthers on January 10, 2026 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire)