10 takeaways from Rams’ unacceptable loss to Panthers

Throughout an NFL season, every team must overcome some form of adversity. The Los Angeles Rams faced that adversity on Sunday, losing 31-28 to the Carolina Panthers. They got outplayed and out-coached by a team they had no business getting outplayed or out-coached by. It was another reminder that the Rams can’t just show up and expect to win games. They still have to be able to execute. Sunday’s loss was a frustrating one so let’s jump right into it.

1. Rams offense came out firing on all cylinders

Despite somewhat of a shaky start on defense, the Rams offense was moving the ball well to begin this game. It helped that they started the opening drive at the Panthers’ 35-yard line, but they still scored a touchdown in six plays. While the next drive resulted in a red zone turnover followed by another interception later, the offense easily marched down the field and took a 21-17 lead into halftime. Their two drives in the second quarter resulted in touchdowns.

It may not have been a good day for the defense, but it felt like a game that the Rams may have been able to outscore the team on the other side. That’s what this team was built to do. Stafford may not have been sharp, but he was doing enough. The running game was moving well. Over the past two months, the Rams offense has started strong and that was the case in this one as well.

2. Davante Adams remains a beast in red zone

At this point, defenses have to know what’s coming and they are still getting beat by Davante Adams in the red zone. The Rams had a RPO called on the opening drive and Stafford hit Adams on a slant. Later in the game, Stafford once again found Adams in the back of the end zone after extending the play.

Adams now has 14 touchdowns on the season which are the most he’s had since 2022. The Rams may need to find another red zone option eventually, but if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Stafford and Adams have it figured out in the red zone and until teams begin to stop it, there isn’t a need to change anything. Adams now has 28 career games with multiple touchdown catches which is tied with Don Hutson for the sixth-most all time. He also now has 117 career touchdown receptions which passed Antonio Gates for the seventh-most in NFL history.

3. Matthew Stafford is human after all

For much of the season, Matthew Stafford has seemed invincible at times and it’s a reason why he’s led the MVP race. Following his first touchdown pass, he broke the record for most consecutive touchdown passes without an interception. When bad things happen, they happen in bunches and that was the case for Stafford. His first interception wasn’t necessarily his fault as it came off of a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage. However, the next drive, he was late and behind Puka Nacua which resulted in a touchdown the other way. On the final drive, he was sacked from behind and fumbled.

Two of those mistakes can’t happen and directly contributed to the Rams losing. However, it goes beyond the turnovers. Stafford didn’t connect with an open Terrance Ferguson multiple times. He came off Adams too early on one occasion and settled for a checkdown that fell incomplete. Rams skill players failed to get separation downfield and Stafford didn’t seem as confident as he usually is to let it rip into tight windows.

4. McVay abandoned run too often

On a day in which Stafford was somewhat struggling, it would have made sense to lean on the run game more. When you consider that both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum averaged over five yards per carry, it’s especially curious why the Rams didn’t lean on it more. Corum and Williams combined for 15 carries for 153 yards. The issue there is that in a game that was within one score for the entire game, those two only had 15 carries.

On Stafford’s first red zone interception, the Rams threw the ball three straight times after Corum had carries of 14 and six yards. The interception came on 3rd-and-goal from the eight-yard line. The Rams went three-and-out in the third quarter after they passed on 2nd-and-5 and Stafford took a sack. This was a game to lean on the two-headed monster at running back with Stafford struggling and the conditions less than ideal to throw the ball.

5. One to forget for Emmanuel Forbes

A lot has been said about the turnaround of Emmanuel Forbes. However, Sunday was a step back for the former first-round pick. Forbes tends to struggle against more physical wide receivers, but he never got outplayed physically in this game. It wasn’t as if he was getting posterized along the sideline like he did against Elic Ayomanor early in the year.

On both plays he let the wide receiver get behind him and wasn’t able to make a play on the ball. Both touchdowns also came in big moments on fourth down. It goes beyond what Forbes did in coverage. He had a bad missed tackle prior to giving up a touchdown as well. This is one to forget for Forbes. He’s been a big reason for the secondary turning a corner and they’ll need him to bounce back.

6. Another ‘WTF’ performance from defense

While Forbes will get a brunt of blame on defense, he wasn’t the only issue. The Rams have done a great job stopping the run this season. With Poona Ford managing an injury, his absence was felt. They didn’t give up any big runs, but Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle combined for 141 rushing yards on 35 carries. It kept the Panthers out of the long down and distances that the Rams defense thrives on and made them less predictable.

The Rams have had a few games this season in which they have played down to lesser teams on the defensive side of the ball. They are able to get up for the big games, but expect to coast through teams at times. It was very similar in Week 5. For the most part, things weren’t difficult for Bryce Young. While the pass rush got to him a few times, Young was able to stand in the pocket and find his wide recThroughout an NFL season, every team must overcome some form of adversity. The Los Angeles Rams faced that adversity on Sunday, losing 31-28 to the Carolina Panthers. They got outplayed and out-coached by a team they had no business getting outplayed or out-coached by. It was another reminder that the Rams can’t just show up and expect to win games. They still have to be able to execute. Sunday’s loss was a frustrating win so let’s jump right into it.

7. Rams must find ways to weather the storm

In games like this, the Rams have to find ways to weather the storm. The Rams led going into halftime, but allowed a six-minute touchdown drive to start the third quarter. After a three-and-out, the Panthers held onto the ball for 8:30 minutes before punting. Over the course of a 60-minute game, there are going to be ebbs and flows. However, the Rams have to find a way to weather the storm better. They can’t go an entire quarter holding the ball for less than two minutes.

During the third quarter, the Panthers converted three times on third down and once on fourth down. This is similar to what happened against the Seahawks, but instead of touchdowns, the defense was giving up field goals. Even if the offense isn’t scoring, they have to find ways to sustain drives. The ‘death by 1,000 paper cuts’ defense can work, but at some point you have to get off the field. This game was lost in the third quarter.

8. The game was lost in the important moments

It seemed as if in every big moment, the Rams came up on the wrong end. The Panthers were 7-for-15 on third down and 3-for-3 on fourth down. The Panthers were 0-for-1 in the red zone, but managed to score three offensive touchdowns. Every touchdown was an offensive explosive with one coming on a swing pass on 3rd-and-8 and the other two coming on fourth down.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was 8-for-10 for 162 yards and three touchdowns on third and fourth down in this game. That’s simply not a recipe for success for the Rams defense. The pass rush didn’t get to Young consistently enough and it’s a reason for the struggles in the secondary. Offensively, the Rams were 2-for-5 on third down with two turnovers. In every big moment, the Panthers made the play they needed while the Rams did not.

9. This team is too good for these losses

Simply put, this loss was unacceptable. This felt like the loss to the 49ers back in Week 5 as the Rams beat themselves in that game. At least with the 49ers, that’s a division game and that team knows how to play against you. This was against a Carolina Panthers team that lost on Monday Night Football after forcing three turnovers and had beaten one team with more than three wins this season. Much like the 49ers game, the Rams seemed to believe they could simply show up and they would win.

It goes beyond the players. The Rams had to use a timeout early in the second half on defense. McVay tends to use timeouts like he has 10 of them and didn’t use one on the final drive which led to a delay of game penalty. One coaching staff committed to running the ball while the other did not.

Over the past two years, the excuse of inexperience could be used. This team should no longer have these types of losses with mental lapses. This was as if the Rams had been reading the headlines that they were the best team in the NFL and their ego got the best of them. The Rams have two losses this season as 10-point or more favorites. Hopefully this is a wake-up call, but this is a team that shouldn’t need a wake-up call.

10. The road to No. 1 seed just got tougher

Following the loss, the Rams are no longer the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the road to that just got tougher. The Rams could have lost to the Seattle Seahawks in three weeks and still taken the NFC’s top seed by winning the rest of their games. They are now tied with the Seahawks and need to sweep the season series to likely win the NFC West. While they are still ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles, the Rams now trail the Chicago Bears at the top of the NFC.

Having home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a bye week is something that should be important for this team. However, the road to doing so just got significantly more difficult and it is no longer in their hands. This was a loss that they could not afford to have. They eivers. The players didn’t execute in the important moments. Young was a very efficient 15-for-20 with three touchdowns. The lack of execution allowed the Panthers to control the clock and live within a comfortable game plan.