CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In addition to a dark, velvet tracksuit, Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Turk Wharton wore a notable accessory to the Week 13 game against the Los Angeles Rams — the 16-carat, diamond-covered Super Bowl LVII ring Wharton won with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wharton, who has two Super Bowl rings from his time in K.C., played in 13 playoff games with the Chiefs — nearly a full season’s worth and more than anyone else on the Panthers’ roster.

So as the Panthers prepared to face the Rams, one of the NFC’s best teams and who are led by MVP candidate Matthew Stafford, Wharton wanted his teammates to know what was possible.

Wharton didn’t say anything when he walked into the locker room wearing his bling-studded ring the morning of Nov. 30. He didn’t have to.

“Those Super Bowl rings speak for themselves, man. No matter how big your hands are, people will see those things,” he said. “And there’s a trophy to the success of the team and the success of yourself. Those are moments you’ll never forget.”

The Panthers then went out and experienced one of those moments, forcing three turnovers by Stafford, getting a nearly flawless game from quarterback Bryce Young and upsetting the Rams 31-28 at Bank of America Stadium.

The win, coupled with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ loss to the New Orleans Saints this weekend, has the Panthers (7-6) tied for first place with the Bucs in the NFC South. It’s the latest the Panthers have held a share of first since 2017, which is also the last time they made the playoffs.

These are heady times for a franchise that has spent most of the past eight years firing coaches, whipping through quarterbacks and losing games at a clip that, until this season, was matched only by the New York Jets.

With four regular-season games remaining, Wharton wants to be a leader for his teammates, especially those with little or no postseason experience. Thus, the ring.

“Letting them understand that a lot of people probably don’t think it can happen. But to get that faith and that belief is one thing in this league, just to understand that we can do it,” Wharton said Wednesday. “I feel like when we play our best, nobody wants to see us.”

Right tackle Taylor Moton and long snapper J.J. Jansen are the only players remaining from the 2017 team that went 11-5 to earn a wild-card berth before losing to the Saints, who went 3-0 against Carolina that season.

But general manager Dan Morgan and coach Dave Canales have brought in players from successful organizations as they sought to build a winning culture. Wharton, who signed a three-year, $45 million contract in March, leads the list of 24 players with playoff experience, including nine who have appeared in just one postseason game.

Panthers playoff experience

*Most recent team player went to playoffs with; nine players not listed have played in one playoff game

There’s also a large contingent of former Rams, a West Coast exodus that began in 2022 when offensive lineman Austin Corbett signed a free-agent deal on the heels of winning a Super Bowl with L.A.

Since then, five of his Rams teammates have joined him in Charlotte: Nick Scott, A’Shawn Robinson, Bobby Brown, Christian Rozeboom and Robert Rochell. All five were on the Rams’ Super Bowl team and have history with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who was an assistant under Sean McVay.

Like Wharton, Corbett feels an obligation to show some of his less seasoned teammates how to handle a playoff chase.

“We have a lot of guys that we’ve brought in — credit to this front office — who’ve played meaningful football in December and late into the playoffs. So it’s kind of on those guys who’ve done it, who have won playoff games,” he said. “There’s a lot of Super Bowl champions in this place. You’ve gotta rely on those guys in the moment. And it’s kind of the responsibility of those guys to bring those young guys along.”

This is a new experience for owner David Tepper, as well. The hedge-fund billionaire has been criticized for being too hands-on after the firings of coaches Matt Rhule and Frank Reich, and during the annual QB carousel that spun at a rapid pace until the team drafted Young first in 2023.

But Tepper has mostly stayed in the background the past two seasons, while letting Morgan, Canales and vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis operate. At the seventh annual Joy to the Carolinas holiday event Tuesday evening, Tepper was asked about the Panthers’ being tied for first place in the final month of the season.

“It’s not that shabby, to tell you the truth. It’s pretty good. It’s all (a) building process,” Tepper said. “Look, we’ll see where we go. We’ll see what happens. But Canales, Morgan, Tilis and everybody here in the whole organization, I think we’re building something special in Carolina.”

The veteran players who’ve faced pressure-packed, late-season games elsewhere said the key is staying in the moment and not getting caught up in playoff scenarios and what might come next.

“Especially for the young guys, just kind of lead them and get them to not think too far ahead but just focus on the task at hand,” said safety Tre’von Moehrig, who made the playoffs with the Las Vegas Raiders as a rookie in 2021.

“I think that’s the biggest thing because if you start thinking ahead, your mind can wander to places that you don’t need it to be.”

Wide receiver David Moore has been to the playoffs four times — three years in a row with the Seattle Seahawks, where Canales was a longtime assistant for Pete Carroll, and again in 2023 with Tampa Bay when Canales was the Bucs’ offensive coordinator.

Moore said he and other older players like Wharton and Scott have tried to remind younger guys to “be where their feet are,” a Canales expression.

“The playoffs will come as long as you win. If you ain’t winning, you ain’t getting in the playoffs,” said Moore, who hopes to return from elbow surgery before the end of the season. “As long as you’re doing what you’re supposed to do every day, day by day, taking it step by step, you’ll get there.”

No one knows those steps better than Wharton, who said he waited until after the Rams game to really show off the Super Bowl ring, which features more than 600 diamonds and 35 custom-cut rubies.

“A lot of the young guys wanted to come see it and see what it represented and see how it was. Every ring’s got a little different trick to it. I showed them the little tricks of it,” Wharton said. “But just letting them understand that that’s where we’re going.”

At 28, edge rusher D.J. Wonnum is a year older than Wharton and doesn’t qualify as a young guy anymore. But after playing in just one playoff game in four seasons in Minnesota, Wonnum appreciated getting a look at Wharton’s massive ring.

“Obviously, I have buddies around the league that have worn ’em. But I haven’t really played with anybody that’s been there that many times. So being able to see that in person is kind of another level of motivation to want to push and go grab one of those things,” Wonnum said.

“And being in the position that we’re in this year, it’s always possible. It makes us put in more work, work a little harder and have a little more chip on our shoulder to go get that thing.”