Turf Show Times
Some Panthers fans are citing Matthew Stafford’s three-turnover loss to Carolina as evidence that he should not win MVP. Do they have a point?
Probably not — MVPs have bad games too — but it does bring up an important factor in Saturday’s wild card rematch on the same field between the Rams and Panthers: Stafford was stifled by Carolina defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s defense (a coach who saw Stafford in practice every day as L.A.‘s defense pass game coordinator in 2021) and that was without Jaycee Horn, the lone game that the Pro Bowl corner missed all season.
Stafford threw two interceptions and lost a fumble at the end of the game as the Rams lost 31-28 in Week 13. On the matchup, L.A.’s quarterback called the Panthers secondary as good as any he faced all season even before adding back Horn: “I’d like to not throw it to their team (this time). That was the story of the game.”
Another secondary starter who missed the game was safety Tre’von Moehrig (also the only game he missed all year) and he will be on the field this week too. Moehrig had 103 tackles, one interception, and three sacks in 2025.
“I feel like they call similar things, but it’s just adding in an All-Pro-type player,” he said of Horn’s return. “I think both of their corners are as good as you’ll see in the league. They have unique skill sets to themselves. They play to their strengths. Their defense helps those guys play to their strength and they are really good football players. As far as the backend goes, it’s about as good as we’ve seen all year and it’ll be a good challenge for us.”
Per Next Gen Stats, Stafford’s 18/28, 243 yards, 2 TD/2 INT, 2 sack, 1 fumble loss to Carolina ranked this low on his 17 starters in 2025:
So despite L.A.’s receivers having one of their best games of the season and Stafford being pressured at his lowest rate of the season, the Rams quarterback still posted a bottom-4 start for his 2025 by almost any measure. And that was without Horn or Moehrig.
To another and less important extent, former Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom also missed the game and is healthy now. Rozeboom led the Panthers with 122 tackles. If experience against Stafford in practice is any indication, it would explain how safety Nick Scott got his only interception of the season off of Stafford.
Former Seahawks cornerback Mike Jackson had a pick-six off of Stafford.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales was coy about how Carolina was able to disrupt Stafford’s MVP season in Week 13 without Horn, Moehrig, or...
