Carolina Panthers looking to build on their latest positive moment in an inconsistent season

Fresh off an ugly 20-9 loss at San Francisco — a game that was never very competitive — Carolina cooled off Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams with a surprising 31-28 victory on Sunday. The Rams had won six in a row.

Despite missing four starters on defense, the Panthers forced three Stafford turnovers, including a pick-6 by cornerback Mike Jackson.

It's been that type of a season.

In Week 3, Carolina drubbed Atlanta 30-0 in an NFC South blowout, only to go on the road the following week and lose 42-13 at New England.

In Week 8, the Panthers lost 40-9 to Buffalo at home, only to go on the road the following week to Lambeau Field and upset Green Bay, which had the best record in the NFC at that time.

The Panthers followed that surprising high with a perplexing low, losing 17-7 to New Orleans at home in a performance that some figured was a sign the team wasn't really ready to compete for the postseason.

But once again the Panthers showed resilience, rallying to beat the Falcons behind a franchise-record 448 yards passing from Young.

Sunday's win over the Rams keeps the Panthers (7-6) in the playoff hunt — a half-game back of division-leading Tampa Bay. The Panthers play the Buccaneers twice over the last month of the season.

Panthers coach Dave Canales said he thinks that having a young and growing football team is partially responsible for the team's roller-coaster season.

“The inconsistency that we’ve seen, it always comes back down to some of the most basic things,” Canales said Monday. “It’s blocking and tackling, it’s throwing and catching, making those plays when we’re supposed to, owning your leverage, being where you’re supposed to be. That’s just a sign of a group that’s continuing to figure out who we are, find that identity so we can have it show up on a weekly basis.”

What's working

If the Panthers make the playoffs, offensive line coach Joe Gilbert is plenty deserving of a raise. Carolina's offensive line has been a revolving door all season, but Gilbert's unit continues to do a decent job of protecting Young and opening holes in the run game.

The Panthers have used 10 different starting offensive line combinations in 13 games.

What needs help

Carolina struggled on kickoff coverage against the Rams. Ronnie Rivers returned the opening kickoff 46 yards to set up a Stafford touchdown pass to Davante Adams.

Stock up

Running back Chuba Hubbard may have lost his starting job to Rico Dowdle when he was sidelined by a midseason calf injury. But Hubbard could have a big impact on the final stretch of games.

Hubbard, who has been back on the field for more than a month, said he just started to feel like himself last week. On Sunday, it showed. He looked noticeably strong and fast, rushing for 83 yards to help the Panthers control the clock.

Canales doesn't want to go back to a split backfield — that didn't work the first time around — but expect Hubbard to see more carries moving forward.

Stock down

The Panthers may need to consider moving on from Xavier Legette, a first-round pick in 2024. Legette has struggled with separation and had just one catch for 1 yard against the Rams on two targets. He has just 28 receptions for 287 yards and three TDs in 11 games — not exactly eye-popping numbers for being the No. 2 wide receiver.

Injuries

The Panthers came out of Sunday's game healthy and are expected to get CB Jaycee Horn (concussion) back after the bye week. S Tre'Von Moehrig also should be able to return after serving a one-game suspension. Canales said there is an outside chance the team could get guard Robert Hunt back for their playoff push if his torn biceps continues to heal.

Key number

2017 — The last time the Panthers had a winning record this late in the season. It was also the last time they made the playoffs.

Next steps

The Panthers are going into their bye week. They close the season at New Orleans, home against Tampa Bay and Seattle, and at Tampa Bay.

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