In the thick of a frantic fourth quarter, Matthew Stafford was calm and collected -- on the surface.
The Rams quarterback coolly led a seven-play, 71-yard scoring drive with under three minutes to play, finding Colby Parkinson for the go-ahead touchdown to get the Rams past the Panthers, 34-31, and advance Los Angeles to the Divisional Round next week.
But as Davante Adams explained after the win, there was a savage force beneath Stafford's composed late-game play. The Rams wideout said Stafford told him "let's go snatch these guys' hearts" before leading that game-winning drive.
"That was pretty cold, just to hear that," Adams, who had five receptions for 72 yards in the victory, said, per the team's official site. "And I actually literally smiled in the moment, because I thought that was like one of the most gangster things you could say in that moment, honestly. And to hear him say that, and the look on his on his face, and then throw the touchdown, and then the look on his face after that, was just MVP stuff."
The Stafford-to-Parkinson score was the fourth lead change of the final frame, which is tied for the most lead changes in the fourth quarter of a playoff game in NFL history, per NFL Research.
The 37-year-old veteran delivered a perfect back-shoulder toss only Parkinson could possibly receive, and the tight end's impressive body-turning grab led him into the end zone.
"He was steady -- it was MVP type of stuff what he did," Rams head coach Sean McVay told reporters. "... He got a bunch of different guys involved. I thought he saw the field really well and I that's why we're advancing, because of his leadership."
Forcing four incompletions on the Panthers' ensuing drive with 32 seconds remaining, the Rams rejoiced as they escaped Carolina with a win -- an unlikely scenario considering L.A.'s hot start.
Stafford prompted what first appeared to be a Rams runaway in the early going. He found an early rhythm with wideout Puka Nacua, who punctuated the Rams' opening drive with a 16-yard TD reception and found another quick score following a Rams takeaway to make it a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
The Panthers had other ideas, however, answering with a pair of TD scores before the end of the first half thanks to Bryce Young's play-making and Chuba Hubbard's consistent day on the ground.
Carolina's defense fed off Young's inspiring play, influencing Stafford and Co. into an offensive halt in the third quarter that saw just three points from L.A. and a Stafford interception that led to the Panthers' first lead of the game early in the final frame.
From then on, the Rams and Panthers traded touchdown drives, with Carolina blocking the only punt of the final frame and finding the go-ahead score four plays later off a Young TD throw.
Off the heels of an MVP-level season that saw him lead the NFL in passing, Stafford proceeded to calmly put the game away, completing 6 of his 7 pass attempts for all 71 yards of that game-winning drive. He was 12-of-15 passing with two TDs and a 146.0 passer rating in the fourth quarter.
"I have been in that spot a lot in my life -- and I love that spot," Stafford said. "I would rather be me having to go out there with our offense and do it then watch from the sideline. You can make it stressful or you can make it calm and collected, and think the latter is what we were today."
Stafford, who finished 24-of-42 passing for 304 yards and three TDs (one INT) on Saturday, also made franchise history in the process, passing Hall of Famer Kurt Warner for the most passing yards, TDs and wins in Rams playoff history.
