CHARLOTTE — Mike Jackson muscled his way into the scrum surrounding Lathan Ransom's locker, trying to pass over his sunglasses.

"You want some shades, bro?"

It was a genuine request, given the horde of cameras that surrounded Ransom following the Panthers 23-20 win over the Bucs, a last-second victory courtesy of Ransom that put Carolina in sole possession at the top of the NFC South.

Ransom didn't take the sunglasses, though. He wanted to look everyone in the eye as he talked about his play, when he intercepted Baker Mayfield in Panthers territory with 42 seconds remaining, giving Carolina the ball back and the win.

"They ran, I think it was wave," Ransom explained. "I was matched up on Mike (Evans), and (Chau Smith-Wade) bumped him real good and got a good opportunity to read the quarterback and make a play."

"I was trying to find a lane to step through and make the throw to (Mike Evans)," Baker Mayfield explained. "He thought I was going to scramble, which based on some of the scrambles earlier to that, can't blame him. Just honestly, it's just a sucky situation."

Ransom started to return it, but his fellow rookie Nic Scourton jumped in front and pointed for him to get down, knowing that simply giving the Panthers the ball back meant they could kneel it out.

"Everybody's telling me to get down," laughed Ransom. "I was just excited, and I got down."

It was an incredible play by an ascending rookie, his first career pick.

But it was more than just a game-winning pick in a game the Panthers had to have to stay in the playoff race. It was a full-circle response, and the reason he wanted to look into the eyes (literally and figuratively, through the camera) of everyone who'd criticized his game the past week.

"I faced a lot of adversity, the noise from everybody last week," the safety started, "Probably some of y'all too, you feel me? I mean, that's football. At the end of the day, that's how you shake back."

Last week, as a reminder, the Saints were driving, hoping to get off a long field goal in a tie game as time ticked. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough ran up the middle and slid for what would've been a 4-yard gain and a 62-yard field goal. But as Shough slid, Ransom dove for the tackle and hit helmet to helmet. He was flagged for unnecessary roughness and an additional 15-yard penalty set up a makable 47-yard field goal, giving New Orleans the win.

The next week meant noise closing in on Ransom from every facet.

"(I) understand that the game's not won or lost by one play, but people behind that phone are going to have their own opinions," admitted Ransom, a moment of vulnerable honesty about what the past few days have been like for him. "So you know, I just heard all the noise, listened to it, and use that as fuel for this game."

Well, he heard it from every facet but the Panthers locker room. In there, veterans surrounded their rookie and made sure he understood they weren't looking for him to change his game.

"It's football; we know what type of player Lathan is," implored Jaycee Horn. "It's easy for everybody to point the finger and say, 'Oh, it's your fault you did this,' and now those same people are going to be saying, 'Oh, Lathan, you're a hero.'

"So like I said, we got to stay together as a team. The only thing we care about is this locker room and trying to stay banded together and get wins."

Added Jackson, "He responded like a grown man should. Everybody said last week it was a dumb thing; he shouldn't have done this. He shouldn't have hit the quarterback. At the end of the day, he got a style of play that he plays with, and he made up for it today."

Nick Scott's locker is two down from Ransom's, and he is also the safety Ransom is most often with in the backfield. The two have to be on the same page at all times, and as the veteran continues to mentor the rookie, he saw a response this past week that gave him confidence in Ransom's future.

"I'm just really happy for him personally, that he can have that feeling of what it's like to close a game. For DB's, there's no better feeling than getting a pick and ending it.

"It's a blessing to have a young guy that learns as well as he does, plays as hard as he does, and just really happy for him. I mean, the guy plays the game the right way, and he's really learning how to be a pro fast and doing a great job."

Ransom bookended a week with two game-ending and defining plays. To go from one to the other was frankly poetic and a story that can only be written by football.

"That's a great, that's a great story," head coach Dave Canales said. "I mean, that's fantastic, and it's just about belief and having confidence in our guys to be able to be studs about the things we need to work on and be studs about those different decisions that come up, and I love that for Lathan. For him to be able to make the winning play, the biggest play of the game for us."