Matthew Stafford’s late heroics lift Rams past Panthers in wild-card thriller

Matthew Stafford learned of his first-ever first-team All-Pro selection on Saturday. 

Several hours later, Stafford jogged onto the field in Charlotte shortly before the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers opened this year’s NFL postseason.

Stafford, an NFL MVP candidate, proceeded to engineer two fourth-quarter scoring drives to rally for a 34-31 win. The wild-card round victory also punched the Rams a ticket to next week’s NFC divisional round.

While the Rams were the favorites entering Saturday's game...