Wide receiver Davante Adams did his part to tilt the field for the Los Angeles Rams against the Carolina Panthers, and then some. The veteran wideout hauled in two first-half touchdowns to leap Antonio Gates for seventh on the NFL’s all-time receiving TD list, staking LA to an early 21-17 lead.
But on a day when Adams’ resume grew even stronger, the Rams collectively stumbled, melting down after halftime and watching a winnable game slip into a 31-28 loss that could haunt their push for NFC supremacy.
As noticed by Adam Grosbard, Davante Adams addressed what he thought went wrong against the Panthers. “With this team, I’m always optimistic that even through some adversity throughout the game that we’ll weather the storm and figure it out. We just made a few too many mistakes. Nobody saved the day today.”
And Sean McVay also addressed a few things about this: “The things we’ve been doing a high clip, we didn’t do today.”
Those two comments hit the core of what went wrong. The Rams’ explosive connection between Matthew Stafford and Adams was still there, but the familiar complementary habits around it, clean situational football, protection in key moments, and finishing drives, broke down.
McVay’s frustration is less about one blown assignment and more about the standard. This is a 9-3 team that has lived on sharp execution, red-zone efficiency, and timely defense. Against Carolina, that edge dulled.
In the middle of it all, Kyren Williams gave LA a scare before delivering at least one positive takeaway. The running back rolled up on his ankle in the first half and spent long stretches on the sideline, officially listed as questionable to return.
He eventually came back and churned out 72 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, then explained afterward that scar tissue from a previous injury actually absorbed some of the impact, “thank goodness for that,” as he put it. Even so, his return and Blake Corum’s 81-yard, one-score outburst were not enough to cover for the mistakes elsewhere.
The Rams remain atop the NFC West and sit second in the conference pecking order, but Sunday was a clear reminder that the details still matter. If Los Angeles wants Adams’ record days to translate into January wins, McVay’s “high clip” habits will have to return quickly, starting with the next trip to Arizona.
