The 2025 NFL season has delivered its fair share of twists, but the Carolina Panthers going into Sunday and handing the NFC leaders, Los Angeles Rams, a 31–28 loss sits near the top of the list. Still, if you listened to former Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth, this wasn’t some inexplicable collapse. In his mind, it was almost baked in.

Speaking on the Rich Eisen Show, Whitworth pushed back on the idea that Sean McVay’s team somehow “overlooked” the Panthers. He argued it had far more to do with how much the team had just poured out over the previous two weeks than anything Carolina did to catch them napping.

“I don’t think it was something they overlooked. I think that the reality is: they played the Seattle Seahawks two weeks before. Come back to next week, where they got SNF against the Bucs. Those are two massive games you get up for. You travel all the way across the country,” Whitworth remarked.

Whitworth added that Carolina treated the matchup as a “measuring stick” to see where they stack up against one of the NFC’s heavyweights, and they played like it. But he kept coming back to the same point: that stretch against Seattle and Tampa Bay would take something out of any team.

It tracks. That two-game stretch may end up being the most important of the Rams’ season, and they knew it. They emptied the tank. Against Seattle, the defense came alive, with four interceptions of Sam Darnold, including two by Kam Kinchens and one each from Cobie Durant and Darious Williams. One of the most complete defensive outings they’d put on tape all year.

Then came Tampa Bay. It was a long trip back home, and it still turned into a 34–7 beatdown. The pass rush showed up in waves, with Byron Young and Jared Verse both getting two sacks each. Durant added a pick-six, Emmanuel Forbes Jr. grabbed another interception, and the defense broke up 10 passes. Meanwhile, the offense rolled to 333 yards with Matthew Stafford posting a 122.7 rating.

It’s not hard to see why a team might feel a little fried after back-to-back weeks like that. But burnout or not, it doesn’t change how Sunday looked. Complacency cannot be excused.

Head coach Sean McVay’s Rams were complacent on Sunday

The Rams rolled into Sunday looking like one of the hottest defenses in football. They’d held four of their last six opponents to 10 points or fewer and had snagged six interceptions in the two games leading up to Carolina. But the Panthers found it quite easy to break through them.

They picked their spots, hit a couple of deep shots over Emmanuel Forbes Jr., and suddenly, a defense that had been airtight looked a step slow. L.A. didn’t allow much on the ground in terms of big-chunk runs, but Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle kept chipping away. Carolina’s 141 yards on 35 carries didn’t blow anyone away, but it kept the Panthers in a favorable position.

The Rams were simply outplayed after all that dominance against much better teams. Stafford finally came back to earth, throwing two interceptions and leaving plays out there. He missed Terrance Ferguson on a couple of clean looks, and on one snap, bailed off Davante Adams too quickly, settling for a checkdown that never had a chance.

It was a reminder that this team can’t just walk into a stadium and expect the scoreboard to go their way. And this wasn’t exactly a juggernaut they were facing. Carolina lost on Monday night despite forcing three turnovers and has not come out on top against any solid opposition.

Even with the fatigue of back-to-back heavyweight matchups, the Rams need to figure out how to win these matchups. And now, with the loss, they’re no longer holding the NFC’s top seed. It might prove to be costly down the road.