CHARLOTTE — All week, the Panthers' defense heard about the lore of Matthew Stafford.

They heard about the Rams quarterback and what is shaping up to be a Hall of Fame career. They heard about his streak of 27 touchdowns without an interception, how he ranked in the Top 5 in total passing, led the league in quarterback rating, and guided the Los Angeles Rams to a 9-2 record and hadn't trailed in a game since the first quarter of Week 6.

They heard about how depleted their unit was, how they were missing three starters, were going to have to play a handful of rookies and untested guys, and how, frankly, they had no shot to defeat Stafford in hopes of winning Sunday's Week 13 matchup.

"Being honest, nobody gave us a chance to beat these guys after Monday night. We lost Jaycee Horn and Tre'von Moehrig. I mean, we lost a lot of pieces of the defense," admitted Derrick Brown, of what they heard in the locker room all week.

But something was not taken into consideration. The moxie of a team that has not backed down after a loss since Week 2 of this season

"It just shows the resilience of this team and being able to come in this week and say, screw everything, we got an opportunity to go out here and play a really good team," continued Brown.

Much of the difference came from Brown himself, who made two huge plays as the Panthers knocked off the top-seeded Rams 31-28. When a team's back is against the wall—such as when playing the top offense in the league, down three starters and coming off a loss—it is the leaders who step up.

That's Derrick Brown.

"There's a resilience and depth of character with Derrick where he's not concerned with what's happening on the other side of the ball," bragged coach Dave Canales of his defensive captain.

"And when the offense might be struggling for a series or two, you're going to get the same Derrick Brown, regardless whatever the score is; we're up, we're down, you're going to get the same Derrick Brown, and that's what I'd love to point to for the whole group.

"Like, guys, let's just continue to do our job well. Let's continue to empty the tank every time you're out there on the field, whether it's in practice or the games. And that's what continues to show up with Derrick."

It started on the Rams' second offensive drive of the game.

Los Angeles had scored quickly on their opening drive. The Panthers answered with a touchdown of their own to tie it up, but it looked like Stafford and the Rams were in position to quickly retake the lead.

Chau Smith-Wade had just broken up a pass in the end zone on Puka Nacua, so the Rams were facing third-and-6 from the Panthers' 8-yard line. Stafford threw a dart over the middle. Brown jumped to deflect it, and he did, just not in the normal way. He was so directly in front of the ball that he deflected it with his face.

"Hey, brother, by any means necessary, for real," laughed corner Mike Jackson.

The ball careened, and Nick Scott took advantage of the tip, picking it off in the end zone for the touchback and keeping the Rams from scoring. Stafford had gone 317 passes without an interception to that point. With the deflection, Brown moved into sole possession of first place for most batted passes by a defensive lineman this season, with seven.

The Panthers' defense doubled up on the next drive, when Jackson picked off Stafford for a touchdown that put Carolina up 14-7.

"I wouldn't say we got in his head," said Brown. "I mean, it was just come out and try to execute at a high level. We knew we needed to make plays, and you know, shout out to Nick, Mike, Jack, I mean, we just made plays when it was needed."

"Lathan Ransom coming down on those run plays, stop that stuff. I mean, it's been a lot of people that made a lot of plays today."

Taking time to give credit to guys like the rookie Ransom in his first start, who finished with a game-high 11 tackles and 1.0 sack, echoed back to Canales' point that it is Brown's humility and steadiness that helped define this Panthers' defense.

"I don't care who does it, how it looks, and as long as it gets done," preached Brown. "I'll sit here, and I'll say it like this: this is the most selfless team I've been a part of. I mean, from D-Line room to the back end, we all celebrate one another, and that's something that I hold on a high pedestal because when you got 'me' guys, then you, you won't be able to form a culture here."

For as much as so many guys stepped up on Sunday—and so many guys stepped up on Sunday—it was Brown who once again made a game-changing play. For that matter, it was a game-winning play in the fourth quarter.

With the Rams trailing by three, 2:34 to play, facing third-and-10 at the Panthers' 22-yard line and already in field-goal range, Stafford dropped back to scan the field. His offensive line had held up all day, and the Panthers were playing for the pass. But Brown would not be denied. He broke through, sacking Stafford and forcing a fumble that D.J. Wonnum scooped up and returned 19 yards.

"It kind of developed, coming around, Turk (Tershawn Wharton) getting high, forcing the quarterback to step up in the pocket, coming around, seeing DJ take the inside move, and then washing everything down," explained Brown. "Just came around and seen him standing there and try to go get it."

As soon as that happened, A'Shawn Robinson had only one thought.

"Once it happened, I said ball game."

And that it was. The offense picked up a first down with a big third-down throw from Bryce Young to Jalen Coker, and that was enough to run out the clock to victory formation. Now, the Panthers get a much-needed bye week before returning with four games that could decide the division.

Maybe the narrative around this team will be different by then. Maybe it won't. But that didn't matter this week, and Derrick Brown promised it hasn't mattered at any point this season. That's what has made the difference in this turnaround.

"Nobody gave us a shot all week," said Brown. "So I mean, everybody within this locker room, it's been that way since we were 1-and-3, and everybody was like, here we go again, and you know, for us to be able to sit in here and be able to have that resilience, just to come to work every single day and put our best foot forward and go out here and try to win these games.

"I mean, that's what it's been from day one when we showed up in the OTAs. Many people didn't see the vision, but we knew if we just keep working, we'll have opportunities."