Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAYMon, December 1, 2025 at 12:08 AM UTC·4 min readA hot-and-cold NFL team is nothing out of the ordinary. A world-beater one week, roadkill the next. The parity the league tries to promote is the foundation for such a phenomenon.
The 2025 Carolina Panthers are taking it to a whole new level. Head coach Dave Canales’ team defeated the team many consider to be the most complete in the NFL, topping the Los Angeles Rams, 31-28 on Nov. 30. Carolina improved to 7-6 and remained within a half-game of the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe night before the game, Canales said he told his team the world had seen the Rams’ best football – but not the Panthers’.
“It’s humility. It’s playing games where we’ve been humbled by our execution,” Canales said.
All seven of the Panthers’ wins this season have come as underdogs, according to betting odds. They have scored 13 or fewer points six times. In September, Carolina took out the Atlanta Falcons 30-0 one week after the Falcons scored a prime-time victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Panthers lost to the two-win New Orleans Saints two weeks ago, in between wins over the Green Bay Packers and Rams, two serious NFC contenders.
Nobody would put the Panthers in the same category as those two teams. But their peskiness has led to meaningful December football for an organization that rarely has that to look forward to.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBryce Young’s big day (not in the way you think)
Six days removed from a disastrous “Monday Night Football” showing, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young outplayed Matthew Stafford.
Young protected the football (zero turnovers) and threw two fourth-down touchdowns, both of which took the lead in their respective moments. He finished 15-for-20 for 206 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s the consistency of play,” Canales said. “The thing I appreciate about Bryce is, regardless of the moment, regardless of the time of the game or the score, when I put the ball in his hands, he stays the same. He stays even. His eyes are in the right place. And then he executes the play and finds his best-available receiver. That’s the part I just love being able to count on with Bryce.”
Week 1: Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The play was originally ruled an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned. Despite TeSlaa's effort, the Packers won the game 27-13.
Week 1: The New England Patriots' Robert Spillane (14) and Christian Elliss (53) tackle Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (87) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Raiders won the game, 20-13.
Week 1: New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) fumbles the ball on a tackle by Washington Commanders safety Will Harris (3) during the first quarter at Northwest Stadium. It was a rough Giants debut for Wilson (17 of 37 passing for 168 yards) as the Commanders won the game, 21-6.
Week 1: Fireworks go off before the NFL Kickoff Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles opened the season with a 24-20 victory over their longtime NFC East rivals.1 / 4Best images of the 2025 NFL season
Week 1: Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The play was originally ruled an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned. Despite TeSlaa's effort, the Packers won the game 27-13.
1 / 4Best images of the 2025 NFL season
Week 1: Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. The play was originally ruled an incomplete pass, but the call was overturned. Despite TeSlaa's effort, the Packers won the game 27-13.
2 / 4Best images of the 2025 NFL season
Week 1: The New England Patriots' Robert Spillane (14) and Christian Elliss (53) tackle Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (87) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Raiders won the game, 20-13.3 / 4Best images of the 2025 NFL season
Week 1: New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) fumbles the ball on a tackle by Washington Commanders safety Will Harris (3) during the first quarter at Northwest Stadium. It was a rough Giants debut for Wilson (17 of 37 passing for 168 yards) as the Commanders won the game, 21-6.4 / 4Best images of the 2025 NFL season
Week 1: Fireworks go off before the NFL Kickoff Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles opened the season with a 24-20 victory over their longtime NFC East rivals.Both of the fourth-down touchdowns were beautifully-placed balls that floated over the trailing defender and hit his receiver in stride perfectly.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYoung became just the second quarterback in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) with multiple touchdown passes that traveled over 10 air yards on fourth down in a single game. (Joe Flacco, making his Cincinnati Bengals debut during a Week 6 loss to the Green Bay Packers, was the other.)
“For us, we always lean on each other,” Young said. “We always have belief. We know we have what it takes.”
Why L.A. Rams shouldn't be too concerned
From the Rams’ perspective, they don’t have to put too much stock into the defeat. Following six straight wins, three against NFC contenders, it was a classic trap game for Los Angeles.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMatthew Stafford wasn’t going to remain interception-free forever, but he tossed his first one in two months for a pick-six to Mike Jackson, who went 48 yards for the score. Another interception came off a tipped ball. And Stafford essentially dug the Rams’ own grave by fumbling on a third-down sack by Derrick Brown with roughly 2:30 left in the game.
Stafford will make mistakes, sure, but three turnovers – two serving as inflection points – feels like the high range of how the MVP frontrunner could hurt his team in any game.
Additionally, the Panthers created chaos with those fourth-down scores that the rest of the league is unlikely to replicate. Per TruMedia, the Panthers created 13.2 expected points added (EPA) on those two scoring fourth downs.
Canales said the caliber of opponent can influence that decision-making.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“First downs I would have been thrilled with,” he said. “To come away with touchdowns is fantastic.”
Throw in wet conditions, and the typically surehanded (and dry, they play home games inside after all) Rams simply had a bad day.
Panthers’ playoff chances hinge on post-bye performance
No team in the NFC South has a positive point-differential, making the Panthers’ unfortunate minus-50 mark mostly inconsequential as they enter their Week 14 bye.
The four games out of the bye start against the New Orleans Saints, who upset the Panthers in Week 10. Carolina plays Tampa Bay in two massively consequential games in Weeks 16 and 18. Sandwiched between those tilts is a home game against the playoff-caliber Seattle Seahawks.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYoung knows that some aspects of the postseason race are outside of his and his teammates’ control.
“We can’t look too far ahead,” he said. “We know there’s stuff at stake.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Panthers' win over Rams show why they're 2025 NFL's most chaotic team
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