Rams vs. Panthers: Three must-know storylines for Saturday's playoff game

Wild Card Weekend kicks off with a rematch of one of the most shocking upsets of the 2025 regular season.

Flashback to Week 13. The high-powered Rams rolled into Bank of America Stadium at 9-2 and on a six-game winning streak, five coming by double-digits. The Panthers were 6-6 -- a marked improvement from 2024, but not considered a serious contender following a prime-time letdown in San Francisco the week prior.

But that Sunday afternoon, the Panthers turned in one of the best performances since the Cam Newton era, hounding Matthew Stafford into two interceptions (including a pick-six) and racking up 164 rushing yards in a 31-28 win.

That game -- in addition to plenty of help from their NFC South brethren -- helped the Panthers sneak into an improbable NFC South title, while it started a late-season slide that knocked the Rams from potential No. 1 seed to wild-card team.

Three must-know storylines

1) Rams offense complete again with Adams' return

The loss to the Panthers began a 3-3 end to the season for the Rams, punctuated by a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Seahawks and a stunning loss to the Falcons one week later. A common thread in those two losses: the lack of veteran wide receiver Davante Adams. Adams aggravated a hamstring injury in L.A.'s Week 14 win over the Lions, but will be back on the field Saturday. Adams' return gives Stafford back one of his top red-zone targets -- Adams led the NFL with 14 receiving TDs despite missing three games -- and means the Rams once again boast one of the league's best receiver tandems with the dominant Puka Nacua. The strength of the Panthers defense is a secondary led by Pro Bowl corner Jaycee Horn (five interceptions) and Mike Jackson (four INTs), and they performed admirably last time against L.A., holding Adams and Nacua to 10 receptions for 130 yards and two red-zone TDs. But they'll have their work cut out for them balancing their focus on the passing attack and trying to slow down running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. The Panthers have struggled defending the run this season, allowing 123.3 yards per game (20th) and 4.4 yards per carry (23rd). The Rams are a team many expect to make a deep run this postseason -- even facing three potential road games en route to Super Bowl LX. Taking care of business on Saturday is the first step.

2) Young takes center stage in playoff debut

Saturday features a game between two former No. 1 overall picks with one (Matthew Stafford, 2009) in the hunt for his first-career MVP award, while the other (Bryce Young, 2023) still looks to cement himself as the franchise QB in Carolina. Young has shown promise in his second year under head coach Dave Canales, hitting career bests in TDs (23), completion percentage (63.6), yards per game (188.2) and rating (87.8). While those numbers are solid, they don't speak to a QB destined to win a shootout with one of the best signal-callers in the league. One thing Young has established, though, is his penchant for clutch play. Young boasts 12 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter/OT since entering the league in 2023 (most in the NFL). This season, Young led six such drives, trailing only the Broncos' Bo Nix, and his fourth-quarter prowess was instrumental in the Panthers' takedown of L.A. at the end of November when he put together a game-winning drive capped by a 43-yard strike to Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite Tetairoa McMillan. The Panthers have been at their best this season when leaning on their RB duo of Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard, but their run game has tapered off since Week 13 with no back topping 60 yards in a game since then. Heading into a key offseason during which the Panthers will decide on his fifth-year option, Young will have the chance to make a statement in his first playoff game.

3) Can HC Dave Canales channel 2010 Seahawks?

There's no denying it. The Rams are heavy favorites to advance to the Divisional Round despite their previous slip up in Charlotte, North Carolina. Los Angeles boasts the league's No. 1 scoring offense (30.5 points per game) and had the second-best point differential (+172) behind the top-seeded Seahawks. Carolina by comparison is the fifth team to enter the postseason with a losing record at 8-9 (not counting strike-shortened seasons) and their -69 point differential is the fourth-worst for a playoff team in league history. The last time a team with eight or fewer wins to beat a team with 12 or more wins in the playoffs was when the Tim Tebow-led Broncos shocked the Steelers in the 2011 Wild Card Round. But the Panthers have history with upsets in the postseason. The 2014 Panthers at 7-8-1 beat the 11-5 Cardinals, and second-year head coach Dave Canales was part of Pete Carroll's staff when the 7-9 Seahawks stunned the defending Super Bowl champion Saints in the famous BeastQuake game. Canales saw success in an aggressive approach in their first matchup against the Rams. The Panthers were 3 of 3 with two TDs from Young on fourth-down tries that Sunday, totaling +13.4 EPA on fourth down (the most in the league in the past four seasons, per Next Gen Stats). That type of approach will be paramount if Carolina wants to pull off another upset.

Rams' Wild Card Weekend injury report

Panthers' Wild Card Weekend injury report

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