CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When it was over, after Matthew Stafford had added another chapter to his Hall of Fame career, Jaycee Horn walked across the field to the far tunnel at Bank of America Stadium with a towel draped over his head.

The Carolina Panthers’ Pro Bowl cornerback didn’t see the Los Angeles Rams’ final drive, when Stafford led his offense down the field and hit tight end Colby Parkinson for a 19-yard touchdown strike to lead the Rams to a 34-31 victory in an NFC wild-card game Saturday.

Horn spent the entirety of the last series in the medical tent and most of the previous one there, too, after being ruled out with a concussion. So he didn’t see Stafford complete 6 of 7 passes for 71 yards on the game-winning march, with his lone incompletion coming on a drop by Davante Adams.

He didn’t see Stafford work the middle of the field, rather than test Akayleb Evans, Horn’s replacement, on the outside. But even from inside the blue tent, Horn surely could feel the air go out of the stadium when the 6-foot-7 Parkinson went up over the 6-2 Tre’von Moehrig to give the Rams the lead for good with 38 seconds left.

Four Bryce Young incompletions later — the last a drop by rookie Jimmy Horn that might have given Young a shot at a Hail Mary with a few seconds left — and just like that, the Panthers’ fun, somewhat surprising season was over.

The Panthers (8-10) ended it on a three-game losing streak, their longest skid of the season. But they also did something no Carolina team had done in eight years, snapping what had been the NFL’s second-longest active playoff drought.

And when the players gathered for one last postgame meeting, defensive tackle Derrick Brown told his teammates the Panthers had a new standard.

“I’ve been here six years, and we haven’t seen this day yet,” said Brown, the first-round pick in 2020. “Seeing the Bank packed out and being able to go out there and play playoff football against the best, that’s all we can ask for at this point. The goal is to do this again, but follow through with it.”

The crowd of more than 73,000 that packed into the 30-year-old stadium roared when Cam Newton hit the Keep Pounding drum, then watched as the Panthers went toe to toe with one of the NFL’s elite teams for the second time in six weeks.

And when Young feathered a beautiful, 7-yard TD to Jalen Coker, who called it a “dot, as always,” it looked like the Panthers again might shock the Rams (13-5) and the rest of the league.

Coker’s score capped a career day for the second-year wideout and gave the Panthers a 31-27 lead with 2:39 remaining — an eternity in the NFL, especially considering the Rams had all their timeouts.

Complicating matters was the fact that Horn was out after a violent collision with teammate Claudin Cherelus, who’d also been checked for a concussion. It was the second concussion in the past two months for Horn, who missed the Panthers’ 31-28 win over the Rams in Week 13 while in the protocol.

“It was untimely. I thought they took a lot of opportunities in the middle of the field, with some high-low concepts and made the completions to get those drives going,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “They didn’t really attack us outside where Jaycee wasn’t. But at the same time, having Jaycee out there is always a great thing.”

“It’s tough, man. All-Pro player right there,” Brown added. “A player of his caliber, you hate to see it. … Looking forward to the future with him.”

Panthers coach Dave Canales speaks with Jaycee Horn after the game. Horn was ruled out late with a concussion. (Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images)

Instead of going after Evans, Rams coach and play-caller Sean McVay attacked the middle of the Panthers’ zone, which has been a weak spot of Ejiro Evero’s defense all season.

Evero rushed four rather than blitzing Stafford, whose first five completions came on underneath throws to his two best receivers, Puka Nacua and Adams. Because the Rams had timeouts, safety Nick Scott wasn’t surprised to see Stafford stay in the middle of the field.

Scott said he didn’t have an issue with Evero’s decision to play soft coverage to guard against the big play. “It was good calls. Guys were playing their assignment and getting guys down on the ground,” he said. “One thing we didn’t want to do is be overly aggressive and the ball starts flying too far down the field.”

The only time Stafford went outside was on the out and up to Parkinson, who was well covered by Moehrig. “The guy played it really well, honestly. He played it over the top,” Parkinson said. “It’s a double move, and I knew it was going to have to be a back-shoulder ball, and Matthew placed it perfectly. You couldn’t have walked up and put it any better.”

Brown said the Panthers’ pressure was close to affecting Stafford a couple of times on the final drive, while cornerback Mike Jackson said he lined up too deep on an 18-yard completion to Nacua. Like Scott, Jackson defended the calls to play off-coverage late.

“The people that’s questioning it, let me see what you be doing. Show me your credentials and how you know coverage, how you know when to blitz, when not to blitz,” he said. “They got armchair quarterbacks. But at the end of the day, you’re not doing this for a living.”

If not for Stafford’s heroics, Young would have notched the 13th game-winning drive of his career, and seventh this season. The No. 1 pick from 2023 showed up well in his first postseason taste, completing 21 of 40 passes for 264 yards, with the TD and an interception. Young also scored on a 16-yard scramble.

“Obviously not a great feeling at all. Don’t want the season to come to an end,” Young said. “A special group of guys in that locker room, and it’s a tough one, but I’m super grateful. I wouldn’t have wanted to have this year with any other group. Super excited for the future, but that’ll come again.”

Scott said players in every phase stepped up at some point Saturday. On special teams, late-season addition Isaiah Simmons blocked a punt to set up Coker’s score.

“Shoutout to those (Rams) guys,” Scott said. “They played extremely hard just like we did, and we were on the wrong side of a classic.”

The Panthers will be back at the stadium first thing Sunday morning, with garbage bags and boxes to clean out their lockers. Instead of flying to Seattle or Chicago in the divisional round, the Panthers will scatter and head home.

Brown said there were tears Saturday night because of the finality of it all.

“Yeah, it’s sad. This will be the last time this group’s ever together,” he said. “You know how this business rolls. It’ll be a complete turnover, whether it be our room or somebody else’s room, we’ll have new players in next year.”

New players with a new standard, after Canales’ second Panthers team took an important step.