The Carolina Panthers, of all teams, beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13, and it really just goes to show you how wide open the NFC is this year. Going into this week, it was not crazy to suggest that LA was the best team in the NFL.
Rams' starting QB Matthew Stafford had been on fire going into this game, not having thrown an interception for weeks. So, naturally, Stafford tossed two picks in this game, including a pick-six. Overall, this game was close, and the result should shock most of us.
Carolina beating the LA Rams moves them to 7-6 on the season and drops LA to 9-3, so not only are those teams closer record-wise, but the NFC just got a lot more interesting with this upset victory. Who is going to win this conference?
Panthers beat the Rams and throw the NFC into even more chaos as 2025 continues
It was clear just a few short weeks into the 2025 NFL Season that this year, more so than other years, has an insane amount of parity, and we have talked about this for weeks now. There weren't any undefeated teams after the first month and change of the season, and it really does seem like any team can go toe-to-toe with each other in a given week.
Now that the Rams are 9-3, the Chicago Bears are, for the time being, the first seed in the NFC. The Panthers get themselves back into a decent spot in the NFC Playoff Picture as well, as they have just one more loss than the Detroit Lions.
All of those things I just mentioned would not have seemed possible before the season. Down the stretch here in the 2025 season, the best teams in the NFC need to begin putting their stamp on the conference, or the playoffs this year are going to be a giant mess.
As it stands, Los Angeles is probably still the favorite, but this loss to Carolina could have a massive impact on the seeding when the playoffs begin. On the day, Bryce Young threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Matthew Stafford threw for 243 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.