Bank of America Stadium hasn't hosted a playoff game since 2017. That's seven years of irrelevance in a league built on short memories. And now the Carolina Panthers—yes, these Panthers, the 8-9 ones who backed into the NFC South title thanks to Atlanta's charitable donation to New Orleans—get to open Wild Card Weekend against Sean McVay's Rams.
The football gods have a twisted sense of humor.
Kickoff is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX, and the storylines write themselves. Matthew Stafford, the 37-year-old who's seen everything, versus Bryce Young, the former first overall pick still trying to prove he belongs. If you're looking for playoff experience, Stafford has 16 career postseason games. Young has zero.
Here's what makes this fascinating: these two teams already met this season. Week 13, same stadium. Carolina won 31-28, largely because Stafford threw two interceptions at critical moments. The Rams outgained the Panthers 379-358 and still lost. That game has been gnawing at McVay ever since.
"We go back to a place that... this team humbled us a handful of weeks ago," McVay said after clinching the No. 5 seed. "And as a competitor, if this doesn't get you excited, then I don't know what the hell you're doing."
Stafford echoed the sentiment with characteristic understatement: "Really good defense. Timely guys making big plays on offense for them... We didn't play as well as we can last time we went there."
Translation: we gave that game away, and it's not happening again.
The Panthers, meanwhile, have stumbled into January. They're 1-3 since that Week 13 win. Young has been functional—63.6% completion rate, 23 touchdowns, 11 interceptions across 16 games—but hardly dominant. The 3,011 passing yards look respectable until you realize that's 27th in the league in passing offense (179.3 yards per game).
What Carolina does have is a defense that forces turnovers. They've created 21 takeaways this season, good for 10th in the NFL. Against a Rams team that coughed up three turnovers in their first meeting, that's not nothing.
But let's be real about what's happening here. The Rams finished 12-5. They have Kyren Williams, who ran for 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. They have Davante Adams reportedly healthy and ready to return from injury for this playoff opener. The Panthers ranked 19th in rushing offense (116.3 yards per game) and 27th overall in total yards.
The numbers suggest this shouldn't be close. Vegas opened with L.A. as historically large road favorites for a Wild Card game.
And yet.
Playoffs are about moments, not spreadsheets. Young's ceiling remains tantalizing despite everything. Rico Dowdle has quietly put together a 1,076-yard rushing season. The Panthers' turnover margin of -2 isn't great, but they've shown an ability to capitalize when opponents make mistakes.
The real question isn't whether Carolina can win—it's whether they can play well enough to make Young's future less of a question mark. A competent loss keeps the conversation going. Getting embarrassed ends it.
For the Rams, this is about proving the Week 13 loss was an aberration. McVay's team has Super Bowl aspirations. Stafford didn't return from back issues to exit in the Wild Card round. Jared Verse made promises to teammates after last year's divisional round loss to the Eagles. This franchise expects to be playing in February.
Saturday afternoon in Charlotte will tell us a lot about both teams' futures. Just don't expect anyone in Carolina to admit they're underdogs.
They've been hearing that all season.