CHARLOTTE — The Panthers were playing one of the best teams in the league, on a short week after playing poorly in San Francisco.

They refused to run against the 49ers.

They were playing a team that never throws interceptions.

And then, waves hands, all that happened.

The Panthers ran like they hadn't in weeks. Bryce Young threw a pair of fourth-down touchdowns. And the defense took it away from the NFL's most efficient offense three times.

The final result was a Panthers 31-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams, getting them to 7-6 at a hard-earned bye week.

And it's just as well that they don't play next Sunday, because there's enough to talk about in this one for weeks, after getting a huge win in a driving rain at Bank of America Stadium.

For starters, Young had one of the kind of rebound games we've seen from him at times this year.

The Panthers quarterback finished 15-of-20 for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

He also showed the nerve of a cat burglar, with a pair of fourth-down touchdowns to Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan for 33- and 43-yards, respectively.

He also pulled off his 11th game-winning drive, the most by any quarterback since 2023.

And those opportunities were there because they ran the ball the way they wanted.

After getting just nine carries from their backs Monday at San Francisco, Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle combined for 35 on Sunday.

Hubbard finished with 83 yards and a 35-yard touchdown reception. Dowdle added 58 rushing yards, as they established their preferred mode of offense.

But all of it came down to defense, with Derrick Brown stripping Rams quarterback Matt Stafford, knocking the ball into the hands of D.J. Wonnum, with 2:25 left.

That was the last one, but the Panthers made plays throughout the day.

The Panthers drove a stake in the ground early with a pair of interceptions, including a pick-six by Mike Jackson, to go into halftime trailing 21-17.

Stafford had thrown 28 touchdowns since his previous interception in Week 3, before safety Nick got him in the first quarter.

That was followed by Jackson's touchdown, which set the tone for a day no one but the guys in that locker room saw coming.

Now they get a chance to rest, and we all get a chance to figure out how to describe that one.