2) Puka Nacua
Whether he was screaming untouched down the middle of the field, or bouncing through heavy traffic in the red zone, Nacua was nearly unstoppable on his way to 10 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. The only hiccup came when Nacua dropped a perfect pass from Stafford that would have almost certainly resulted in a touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half. But Nacua’s biggest contribution may have come when he turned into a defender, breaking up a would-be interception in the end zone with the Rams already trailing early in the fourth quarter. The drive continued and resulted in a touchdown, giving Los Angeles the lead back. That pass breakup may have saved the Rams season.
3) Bryce Young
The game plan called for downfield throws and Young, playing the first playoff game of his career, delivered over and over. Given an opening late in the first half when Los Angeles failed to convert a fourth down, Young led a five-play, 81-yard drive that took advantage of defensive errors and then scrambled 16 yards for the touchdown. The score pulled Carolina to within three points and breathed life into the Panthers after being outplayed for most of the first half. His perfectly placed pass over a defender’s shoulder to Coker in the corner of the end zone gave the Panthers a lead with 2:39 left. Under duress from the pass rush, he did not complete a pass on the Panthers’ final drive, but Young and the offense showed tremendous growth in this game, rallying from an early hole to give the Rams a scare. Young spent 2025 erasing doubt that he is the franchise’s future and he only underscored that on Saturday.
4) Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker
The Panthers’ future is bright with these young receivers. McMillan could be the Offensive Rookie of the Year and he finished with five receptions for 81 yards. But it was Coker, in his second season after going undrafted out of Holy Cross, on whom Young relied the most, catching nine passes for 134 yards and a touchdown that gave the Panthers a late lead.
5) Rams pass rush
Young was not pestered much on Saturday — he was sacked twice — and on the Panthers final drive, the Rams didn’t get Young down. But pressure was in his face on each of his first three dropbacks, forcing him to scramble out of the pocket to avoid a sack. That took precious seconds off the clock. Young threw four straight incompletions to end Carolina’s chance.