For 57 minutes, the Carolina Panthers looked like they were about to author one of the most stunning playoff upsets of the decade against the Los Angeles Rams.
Instead, they lost because the same flaw that haunted them all season followed them into January. And the playoffs have a way of making those flaws impossible to hide.
Carolina’s pass rush was ineffective from the opening drive to the final snap, mirroring a season-long trend that finally met a quarterback experienced enough to exploit it.
It’s tempting to point to Matthew Stafford’s game-winning drive as the moment everything unraveled.