Matthew Stafford and Rams plagued by turnovers in upset loss to Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Calm down.

Humility, as Sean McVay likes to say, is only a day away. And the Rams lived it Sunday.

McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams defense all were humbled in a 31-28 defeat by the Carolina Panthers before 71,292 at Bank of America Stadium.

Stafford’s stellar MVP-caliber play ended with two interceptions — his first since September — a crucial delay-of-game penalty and a lost fumble.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young sliced the Rams’ secondary for three touchdown passes, and running backs ran through what had been a mostly impenetrable defense.

VIDEO | 02:53

Takeaways from the Rams’ loss to the Carolina Panthers

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in a 31-28 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

But this was not a meltdown. It was costly but not disastrous.

Yes, the Rams’ six-game winning streak ended. Their record dropped to 9-3. They no longer hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

But it’s the NFL. Great players abound. Parity rules.

It happens.

🏈 Panthers 31, Rams 28 — FINAL

Bryce Young connected on a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Jalen Coker on third down just before the two-minute warning to secure the Carolina Panthers’ upset victory and end the Rams’ six-game winning streak.

The Rams used their final two timeouts after Matthew Stafford lost the ball on a fumble in the red zone on the previous possession.

The Rams fall to 9-3 on the season and Carolina improves to 7-6.

🏈 Panthers 31, Rams 28 — 2:25 left in the fourth quarter

With the Rams just outside the red zone, Carolina defensive end Derrick Brown strip sacked Matthew Stafford and linebacker D.J. Wonnum recovered the loose ball, giving the Panthers the ball at their 49-yard line.

Until Stafford’s third turnover of the game (he threw two interceptions in the first half), the Rams had gone 43 yards on 10 plays and were threatening to retake the lead.

The Rams have two timeouts remaining. The Panthers have three. The Rams need a stop on defense if they want to extend their six-game winning streak.

🏈 Panthers 31, Rams 28 — 6:34 left in the fourth quarter

On fourth down, Carolina quarterback Bryce Young found wide receiver Tetairoa McMillian with a pass over the top of Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. for a 43-yard touchdown reception, pushing the Panthers back into the lead.

The play capped a six-play, 65-yard scoring drive and marked the fifth lead change of the game.

🏈 Rams 28, Panthers 24 — 9:58 left in the fourth quarter

Kyren Williams scored on a seven-yard touchdown run to push the Rams back into the lead early in the fourth quarter.

The touchdown capped a six-play, 89-yard drive that included arguably the most spectacular catch of Puka Nacua’s career — a stretching, one-handed hook grab in tight coverage and rainy conditions that resulted in a 30-yard gain.

Blake Corum also fueled the drive, breaking free for a 34-yard run, giving him a career-high 80 yards on day.

Matthew Stafford has completed 14 of 22 passes for 197 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

🏈 Panthers 24, Rams 21 — 13:34 left in the fourth quarter

The Rams defense came up an important stop, halting a 12-play, 37-yard Carolina drive that reached the edge of field-goal range.

Rams defensive end Braden Fiske sacked Carolina quarterback Bryce Young to push the Panthers out of field-goal range. The Panthers were forced to punt after Young failed to complete a pass on the following play.

🏈 Panthers 24, Rams 21 — 8:48 left in the third quarter

Bryce Young connected with receiver Jalen Coker for a 33-yard touchdown to put the Panthers back in front.

The touchdown pass completed a 10-play, 71-yard drive to start the second half.

Young has completed nine of 13 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Coker has three catches for 64 yards.

🏈 Rams 21, Panthers 17 — HALFTIME

Matthew Stafford passed for two touchdowns and Blake Corum rushed for another to give the Rams their lead.

Stafford tossed two touchdown passes to Davante Adams. Stafford has passed for a league-leading 32 touchdowns and Adams has a league-best 14 touchdown catches.

Stafford’s streak of games without an interception ended at seven. Nick Scott intercepted a pass in the end zone and Mike Jackson returned an interception for a touchdown.

Stafford has completed 12 of 19 passes for 167 yards.

Adams has three catches for 43 yards. Xavier Smith has three catches for 82 yards, including a 51-yard reception that set up Corum’s touchdown near the end of the second quarter.

Kyren Williams has rushed for 39 yards in seven carries, but he sustained an ankle injury in the second quarter and is questionable to return. Corum has gained 41 yards in five carries.

Byron Young has a sack for the Rams.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has completed seven of 11 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.

🏈 Rams 21, Panthers 17 — 1:55 left in the second quarter

Blake Corum rushed for a two-yard touchdown as the Rams regained the lead.

Matthew Stafford’s 51-yard pass to receiver Xavier Smith was the key play in a seven-play, 80-yard drive.

Smith has three catches for 82 yards.

Corum has rushed for 41 yards and touchdown in five carries.

🏈 Panthers 17, Rams 14 — 5:33 left in the second quarter

Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 33-yard field goal to put the Panthers ahead.

Bryce Young engineered a 12-play, 60-yard drive, which included his 24-yard scramble.

Young has completed six of nine passes for 73 yards.

🏈 Rams 14, Panthers 14 — 12:46 left in the second quarter

Matthew Stafford fired a seven-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams to tie the score.

The Rams drove 64 yards in seven plays for the touchdown.

Stafford completed a 27-yard pass to Xavier Smith and Blake Corum carried the ball twice for 20 yards during the drive.

Stafford has completed 11 of 16 passes for 117 yards. Adams has three catches for 43 yards, including two touchdowns.

🏈 Panthers 14, Rams 7 — 1:10 left in the first quarter

Panthers safety Mike Jackson intercepted a pass by Matthew Stafford and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown.

Stafford went into the game having had only two passes intercepted in 11 games. The Panthers have intercepted two of his last three passes.

Stafford has completed seven of 12 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions.

🏈 Rams 7, Panthers 7 — 7:38 left in the first quarter

Running back Chuba Hubbard caught a swing pass from quarterback Bryce Young and burst off the right side for a 35-yard touchdown.

The Panthers drove 69 yards in nine plays for the touchdown.

Young completed a 15-yard pass to receiver Jalen Coker early in the drive.

Hubbard carried the ball three times for 15 yards.

🏈 Rams 7, Panthers 0 — 12:10 left in the first quarter

Matthew Stafford tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams to give the Rams the lead.

It was Stafford’s league-leading 31st touchdown pass and Adams’ league-leading 13th touchdown catch.

The Rams needed to drive only 35 yards for the touchdown after Ronnie Rivers returned the opening kickoff 46 yards, and the Panthers were penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.

The Rams, winners of six games in a row, are looking to also extend another streak on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

They have not missed or had a kick blocked in three games.

Harrison Mevis, who replaced Joshua Karty, has made all 13 extra-point attempts and, in last Sunday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked 40- and 52-yard field goals.

“He’s been a cool customer,” coach Sean McVay said.

The Rams also have benefited from the addition of veteran snapper Jake McQuaide.

“The confidence is compounding, and we want to continue to build on that,” McVay said.

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon’s return to the roster 10 weeks after suffering a shoulder injury was something of a surprise — to everyone except Witherspoon.

The veteran paid no mind to longer projections.

“This is right about what I saw the whole time,” Witherspoon said. “They were thinking something different but I told them, ‘I heal fast.’ I knew it was going to be around this time frame, and right on par.”

Witherspoon rejoins a secondary that has intercepted six passes in the last two games.

Rams defensive end Kobie Turner, a 294-pound man strong enough to carry a piano on his back, can also tap out a tune.

The country saw that Sunday night when, on two occasions, NBC aired video footage of Turner expertly playing a complex version of the “Sunday Night Football” theme song. He learned it by ear, then set up his phone to capture the clip.

The song was written by legendary composer John Williams and originally was called “Wide Receiver,” although NBC never adopted that name.

Here are the players who will not be suiting up for the Rams on Sunday:

Here are the players who will not be in uniform for the Panthers:

CB Jaycee Horn

LB Christian Rozeboom

LB Claudin Cherelus

C Cade Mays

WR Hunter Renfrow

DT Jared Harrison-Hunte

DT Cam Jackson

Rams receiver Puka Nacua’s quick rise to NFL stardom has served as a beacon for other current and former NFL players and rising college and high school players.

Carolina Panthers rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who played at Anaheim Servite High, was a first-round draft pick.

“I’ve had a chance to watch his game, especially as another Polynesian athlete and as a wide receiver,” said Nacua, who is of Samoan and Hawaiian descent. “As somebody who is in the skill position, to see him go in the first round and set the new standard for our culture. ... Hopefully, after the game he’s not too mad and we’ll be able to exchange jerseys.”

Nacua said that when he was younger, he looked up to players such as JuJu Smith.

“There weren’t a ton of Polynesian athletes playing the skill position,” Nacua said. “To see his success and to have other Polynesian athletes say my name was mentioned and that they wanted to be able to run into people and score some touchdowns every once in a while, is a cool thought to think about.”

The Bird Streets Club in West Hollywood is a private, members-only enclave that attracts a celebrity clientele.

It’s not the kind of place you’d expect an NFL coach to request a dinner tutorial from a future Hall of Fame receiver on the finer points of his release technique.

Yet that’s where last spring Davante Adams demonstrated for Sean McVay some of the moves that will eventually land the 12-year veteran in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“We didn’t get too many looks,” McVay recalled. “I think people were like, ‘That’s some cool [stuff] right there.’”

A crescendo is building, and the Rams might be best to ignore it.

So much can happen from week to week in the NFL — check out Philadelphia’s loss to Dallas — that the Rams can’t get too comfortable, even with the way they’re playing.

In the last five games, culminating with their 27-point stomping of Tampa Bay on Sunday night, the Rams have outscored opponents in the opening quarter, 63-3.

Matthew Stafford has thrown 27 touchdown passes without an interception.

With kicker Harrison Mevis solidifying their special teams, the Rams on Friday waived Joshua Karty.

Karty, a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, had several kicks blocked early in the season, including one that led to a last-second touchdown by the Philadelphia Eagles. He made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and 23 of 26 extra-point attempts.

“It was just exclusively a numbers thing,” coach Sean McVay said. “It’s just hard to keep two kickers.”

McVay said that if Karty clears waivers, the Rams would like to sign him to the practice squad.

Less than an hour before the Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off on Sunday, fans in SoFi Stadium erupted in cheers.

Watching the giant videoboard, the crowd celebrated as the Philadelphia Eagles blew a huge lead and lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

That meltdown by the defending Super Bowl champions positioned the surging Rams to move to the top of the NFC.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford continued his MVP-caliber play by passing for three touchdowns, and the defense also produced big moments as the Rams seized the opportunity with a 34-7 victory that extended their winning streak to six games and improved their record to a conference-best 9-2.

The Rams currently hold the top seed for the NFC playoffs. Now their greatest challenge might be shutting out the distraction of being deemed a favorite to win the Super Bowl.

“Humility is only a day away,” coach Sean McVay said. “Our guys understand that.”

On Sunday the Rams will play a potential trap game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The Panthers are 6-6 and coming off a 20-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.