The Carolina Panthers’ season came down to a dropped pass in the closing seconds of Saturday’s Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Panthers got the ball at their own 28, trailing 34-31 with 32 seconds left on the clock at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Quarterback Bryce Young threw three incompletions to open the potential game-winning drive, leaving his team with one final play to keep their hopes alive.
Facing 4th-and-10 with the game on the line, Young found an open Jimmy Horn Jr. near midfield for what would have been about a 20-yard gain. The rookie wide receiver dropped the pass, giving the Rams possession and the victory.
The Panthers can't convert the 4th down! @RamsNFL take over! pic.twitter.com/HoGYRNqdnx
— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026
FOX announcer Greg Olsen chastised Horn for not “going to the ground” to try to haul in the catch, making the play much more difficult than it had to be.
Jimmy Horn dropped pass.
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) January 11, 2026
The Panthers have been eliminated, Rams move on, bad way to go out.
Bryce Young got sold 💔 pic.twitter.com/jYXjmaZ7UP
Despite the loss, the Panthers were much closer to winning Saturday’s contest than any non-Carolina fans ever imagined.
The home team led 31-27 past the two-minute warning, with Matthew Stafford needing to put on his Superman cape down the stretch to prevent the upset. But that doesn’t make Carolina’s rough final series hurt any less for Panthers supporters.
