The Carolina Panthers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and are division champions for the first time in ten years. That means we get bonus football! Unfortunately, it comes against a Rams team, and more specifically their offense, that will likely be looking for blood in this rematch from the 2025 regular season. The last time around, the Panthers came up with an upset of the season candidate, as they outlasted the Rams in a 31-28 victory in Carolina. The defense played a major
role in this, as they picked off two of Matthew Stafford’s passes, one of which Mike Jackson returned for a TD, and Derrick Brown forced a game clinching fumble that allowed the Panthers offense to simply run the clock out. Many say the game was perfect for the Panthers, however the defense wasn’t perfect by any means, they simply made enough big plays to make the difference. Let’s dive into how they can make that happen again.
- Force turnovers. Dave Canales preached it ahead of the last game and in the post game press conferences after the fact; you beat really good teams in the NFL by stealing extra possessions. Whether those come via opportunistic 4th down conversions on offense, or turnovers on defense to keep the opposing offense out of the end zone. I don’t think its any secret that this Rams offense is VERY good, and up until the previous encounter with the Panthers, Matt Stafford was one of the best in the league at controlling turnovers. Since then, Stafford has thrown 4 more interceptions and fumbled the ball once, though 3 of those turnovers came against the Falcons in another stunning upset. The Panthers have to find a way to force those turnovers, as the Rams started the last game moving the ball basically at will until Stafford’s first interception.
- The run game was quietly a problem. The Rams put a lot of resources this last off-season into improving their power rushing attack, and it showed in their previous game. They averaged 7.2 yards per carry on 21 rushes for 152 yards. The Rams sport a potent passing attack, but the thing that generally gets a team through the playoffs is a solid and consistent rushing attack, and the Rams currently rank 6th in yards per rush and 7th in rush yards per game, despite only being dead in the middle of the NFL in rushes per game. They will likely have learned from the last time around, and lean on the rushing attack this time to prevent turnovers. Blake Corum and Kyren Williams could have a field day if the game script becomes negative for the Panthers quickly.
- Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn’s tallest task of the season. Jaycee Horn was injured the last time these two teams faced, and while Jackson had himself a pretty good day, Davante Adams scored twice and Puke Nacua had a highlight reel catch that led to a score. With both Nakua and Adams fully healthy again, this is a marquee matchup as far as secondary vs wide receivers go. Mike Jack and Jaycee have quietly been one of the best tandems in the league at CB, while Davante Adams and Puka Nacua have been about as dangerous as we might have imagined going into the season. We can’t have Jaycee Horn slipping or making unfortunate penalties happen, these two really need to lock in for this defense to have a chance.
What are you looking for from the defense this week, Panthers fans?
