{"id":667695,"date":"2026-01-11T02:45:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T02:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/667695\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T02:45:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T02:45:20","slug":"rams-rally-past-panthers-to-open-nfl-playoffs-advance-to-divisional-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/667695\/","title":{"rendered":"Rams rally past Panthers to open NFL playoffs, advance to divisional round"},"content":{"rendered":"

All-Pros Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua helped the Los Angeles Rams advance to the NFC divisional round.<\/p>\n

Stafford threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson in the final minute and the Rams rallied to beat the Carolina Panthers 34-31, kicking off the NFL playoffs on Saturday with a game that was much closer than expected.<\/p>\n

The Rams (13-5) were double-digit favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook against the Panthers (8-10). They jumped to a 14-0 lead but couldn\u2019t take advantage of first-half turnovers and allowed Carolina to get within 17-14 at halftime.<\/p>\n

Stafford, who earned All-Pro honors for the first time in his 17-year career on Saturday, threw for 304 yards, three TDs and had one pick. Nacua, who was an unanimous All-Pro selection, had 10 catches for 111 yards and one TD and also had a 5-yard TD run.<\/p>\n

The Rams are back in the divisional round for the second straight season. Last year, they were 13 yards away from eliminating Philadelphia before a sack and an incomplete pass ended their season with a 28-22 loss.<\/p>\n

No. 5 seed Los Angeles will have to wait for the results of the other wild-card games to know its opponent next week.<\/p>\n

Bryce Young\u2019s 7-yard TD pass to Jalen Coker put the Panthers ahead 31-27 with 2:43 remaining but Stafford drove the Rams 71 yards in two minutes. Parkinson made an outstanding, tightrope catch for the winning score and the defense held.<\/p>\n

\"Los<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson, center left, celebrates his touchdown catch with wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Carolina Panthers, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP\/Erik Verduzco<\/p>\n

Behind coach Dave Canales and improved QB Bryce Young, the Panthers have reason to be optimistic about the future after winning a weak NFC South and nearly pulling off a major upset.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Bears (11-6) host the Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) in another NFC wild-card matchup to complete a Saturday doubleheader. The Bears are the NFC’s No. 2 seed while the Packers grabbed the seventh spot.<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/p>\n

No. 5 Buffalo Bills (12-5) at No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4).<\/p>\n

No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (12-5) at No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6).<\/p>\n

\"Los<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) reacts after a first down during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Carolina Panthers, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP\/Erik Verduzco<\/p>\n

No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) at No. 2 New England Patriots (14-3).<\/p>\n

Monday <\/p>\n

No. 5 Houston Texans (12-5) at No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7).<\/p>\n

Byes<\/p>\n

The Denver Broncos (14-3) are the AFC\u2019s No. 1 seed and the Seattle Seahawks (14-3) got the top seed in the NFC. Each team earned a bye and will host the lowest remaining seed next weekend. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All-Pros Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua helped the Los Angeles Rams advance to the NFC divisional round. Stafford…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":667696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[260,7,58,6,2309],"class_list":{"0":"post-667695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-carolina-panthers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-los-angeles-rams","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-wires-bot"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115874177420549883","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}