CLEANUP ON AISLE 9

Rams fumble away win streak, top spot in NFC

- BY GARY KLEIN

PUKA NACUA makes a one-handed catch over Carolina's Mike Jackson in the second half.

(JACOB KUPFERMAN Associated Press)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Calm down.

Humility, as Sean McVay likes to say, is only a day away. And the Rams lived it Sunday.

McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams' defense all were humbled in a 31-28 defeat by the Carolina Panthers before 71,292 at Bank of America Stadium.

Stafford's stellar MVP-caliber play ended with two interceptions — his first since September — a crucial delay-of-game penalty and a lost fumble.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young sliced the Rams' secondary for three touchdown passes, and running backs ran through what had been a mostly impenetrable defense.

But this was not a meltdown. It was costly but not disastrous.

Yes, the Rams' six-game winning streak ended. Their record dropped to 9-3. They no longer hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

But it's the NFL. Great players abound. Parity rules.

It happens.

The defeat tarnished the Rams' record. But no team, not even the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins, breezes through its schedule.

The Rams lost the opportunity to extend their longest winning streak since 2018, when they won their first eight games and finished 13-3 en route to the first of their two Super Bowl appearances under McVay.

But they remain a Super Bowl contender. And neither McVay nor his players seemed to be sweating the loss.

"There's never a good story [Rams, from D1] without a little adversity," McVay said as he ran his fingers through his rain-soaked hair.