Matthew Stafford admits two Panthers players have his attention — and they could be the difference in securing another upset win
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback has one goal in mind this time around against the Carolina Panthers.
The Carolina Panthers may have fallen backwards into the final playoff spot in the NFC with the opportunity to host the first round at Bank of America Stadium, but in the playoffs there is truly no underdog in the fight.
One benefit that helps the Panthers going into the postseason is familiarity. Of the six playoffs teams in the conference, the Panthers faced four of those teams already in the regular season with a 2-2 record in those games. That includes a, 31-28, home win over the Los Angeles Rams back in Week 13, the same team Carolina will be hosting in the first round on Saturday.
“It’s an opportunity to correct some things that we wanted to correct and try to replicate things that were successful for us,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales explained. “It gives you a little bit of familiarity and confidence to know, ‘OK, this is a team that we’ve seen before, we’ve played them tough.’”
Matthew Stafford is looking to avoid the same mistakes, but Carolina will have one advantage
Looking back to that Week 13 win, a monumental one considering the Rams entered the game as the No. 1 seed in the conference, the Panthers made the most of the gotta-have-it plays. Quarterback Bryce Young had three touchdowns on third or fourth-down and the Panthers defense had two key interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.
“I’d like not to throw it to their team, and I think that was the story of the game when you think about it,” Stafford explained on Tuesday speaking with the media. “We moved the ball well in some areas. Scored a couple. In the red zone, did some nice things. Ran it well. And just had the turnovers.”
That game was a big blemish on Stafford’s MVP-caliber season. The Rams star quarterback finished the season with only eight interceptions and two of them came in that game, including one fumble lost as well. In games with 2+ turnovers, the Panthers were 4-2 on the season and 4-1 at home with the only loss coming against the Seattle Seahawks.
“Really, you look at their defense, that’s what they’ve been able to do to a lot of teams,” Stafford added. “Whether it’s getting a tip at the line of scrimmage and somebody making a play on it, or somebody in the back end making a play, or stripping the ball. So, they’re an opportunistic group with a bunch of playmakers.”
Matthew Stafford 2025 Regular Season Stats
- 65.0 completion percentage
- 4,707 passing yards (most in the NFL)
- 46 passing touchdowns (most in the NFL)
- 109.2 passer rating (2nd among all QBs with 50+ dropbacks)
Going into this game, Stafford noted the Panthers are “healthier now than they were when we played them” and the main player back in the fold this time around is Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn, who led the team with five interceptions, followed closely by corner Mike Jackson with four interceptions.
“It’s just adding in a All-Pro-type player. I think both their corners are as good as you’ll see in the league,” Stafford said. “Have unique skill sets to themselves. They play to their strengths. Their defense helps those guys play to their strength, and they’re really good football players. I think as far as backends go, it’s about as good as we’ve seen all year. It’ll be a good challenge for us.”
Adding the Davante Adams factor to the equation
Stafford will be getting some reinforcements back of his own with veteran wide receiver Davante Adams expected to return to action for the first time since Week 15. Despite the three game absence to end the regular season, Adams still led the NFL with 14 receiving touchdowns.
In that game against Carolina, Adams scored two touchdowns and totaled 58 receiving yards on four receptions. Even still, he was only the third leading receiver of the game for the Rams offense.
The main threat in that receiving room is going to be wide receiver Puka Nacua, who’s capable of a monster performance every time he steps onto the field. Nacua finished the season with 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns himself, giving the Rams two dominant players at the position with a future Hall of Fame quarterback throwing them the ball.
For the Panthers to pull off another home upset on Saturday, they’ll need Horn and Jackson to be on their A-game and hopefully come away with some more turnovers. After that Week 13 game, Jackson noted Carolina has two number one corners and this is the perfect opportunity to prove that.
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