CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers defense made life tough for Matthew Stafford in the first meeting six weeks ago.
Stafford came into the game on a roll, having thrown 18 touchdowns in the previous five games and hadn't been picked off since Week 3, but the double-digit underdog Panthers forced three turnovers and upset the Los Angeles Rams 31-28.
And that was without four defensive starters.
All four, including two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn, have since returned and will play on Saturday when the Panthers (8-9) host the Rams (12-5) in a rematch with the winner moving on to the NFC divisional playoffs. Along with Horn, safety Tre'Von Moehrig and linebackers Christian Rozeboom and Claudin Cherelus are also set to play.
“It's good to have everybody healthy this time around. He's a great quarterback and has been playing at a high level for a very long time," Horn said of 37-year-old Stafford. "They have a lot of weapons, so we need everybody back. We have to find a way to take the ball away and do what we did the last game.”
Stafford led the Rams to a touchdown on the game's first possession in Week 13, but the Panthers intercepted him on the next two drives, snapping his NFL record of 28 straight TD passes without an interception. Carolina also forced a fumble in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Stafford still found success against the Panthers, finishing the game 18 of 28 for 243 yards with two touchdown passes.
And although the Panthers won the turnover margin 3-0, they still needed a big game from Bryce Young and a late touchdown to earn the win. Young threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns while posting the QB rating of 147.1, the second highest in franchise history.
Rams coach Sean McVay called it “a humbling day” for his team.
“The big point of emphasis was the three turnovers,” McVay said. "They didn’t have any. They had some key and critical third and fourth downs. I thought they were able to run the ball and control the clock. The possessions were limited and so that was the big thing. You give them respect. They made the plays and did the things to be able to win the football game.”
Stafford, who led the league in touchdown passes and yards passing this season making him a leading candidate to win his first league MVP award, is well aware the Panthers will be at full strength this time around.
And he isn't taking them lightly.
He said that Horn and Mike Jackson are “as good of a cornerback tandem as you will see in the league.”
“They have unique skill sets. They play to their strengths,” Stafford said. "Their defense helps those guys play to their strength and they are really good football players. As far as the backend goes, it’s about as good as we’ve seen all year and it’ll be a good challenge for us.”
The Panthers also have the benefit of having a little insight on Stafford.
Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was a defensive assistant with the Rams when Stafford led them to a Super Bowl championship four years ago.
Players have said Ejiro's inside knowledge helps in game planning.
“I think (Evero) did a really good job of just creating pressure and making No. 9 (Stafford) a little more uncomfortable which allowed us to get turnovers,” said Panthers safety Nick Scott. “He’s always doing a great job of creating a clear game plan for us, so we always know what task is at hand. It’s up to us to execute it.”
So what does Stafford have to do on Saturday to tun the table on the Panthers?
“I’d like to not throw it to their team," Stafford said. “I think that was the story of the game when you think about it. We moved the ball well in some areas. We scored a couple times in the red zone. We did some nice things, ran it well and just had the turnovers.”
AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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FILE - Carolina Panthers safety Nick Scott (21) makes an interception during an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman,File)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A relative of an 11-year-old girl killed in Gaza said that Israeli gunfire was responsible for her death on Thursday.
The family had returned to a designated safe zone following the Oct. 10 ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group. More than 400 deaths have been reported since then in the Palestinian territory.
After shells and shrapnel hit her home in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya area, Hamsa Housou was taken to Shifa Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, her uncle said.
Outside the hospital mortuary, the uncle, Khamis Housou, told The Associated Press that the family had returned home on Oct. 11, a day after the ceasefire went into effect.
Israel’s military didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and it wasn’t possible to independently verify the details about Hamsa’s death. The military has previously said that actions since the ceasefire began have been in response to violations of the agreement.
Housou, who said his niece had dreams of becoming a doctor, recounted how early on Thursday he heard screams as Israeli troops combed the area where shells and shrapnel hit. He ran from his apartment toward the home where Hamsa lived and found her lying on the floor.
He carried the girl to the nearest clinic, only to find the ambulance there had a flat tire. They waited about 15 minutes, he said, before taking her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“They say that there is a ceasefire and that the war on Gaza has stopped. Is this only through the media, while every day there are explosions and fire belts?” he asked. “Shooting does not stop. Where is the ceasefire?"
Khamis Housou said that Falluja, the neighborhood in Jabaliya where the family lives, has been subjected to daily shooting by Israeli troops despite being on the western side of the yellow ceasefire line.
At least 424 Palestinians have been killed in the nearly three months since the ceasefire took effect, Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants, said Tuesday.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war rose to at least 71,391, the ministry said, with another 171,279 wounded.
The phased ceasefire agreement remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final hostage in Gaza. Israel's Hostages and Missing Families Forum said on Wednesday that it had been notified that teams had recommenced searching for Ran Gvili. The 24-year-old police officer was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that triggered the war.
An Israeli soldier seen in a widely circulated social media video firing live ammunition from his post into the Gaza Strip on New Year’s Day will serve 20 days in prison, Israel’s military said Thursday. Military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said on X that the unnamed soldier “acted contrary to procedures by firing in an unprofessional manner and not complying with orders.” He said the soldier was firing toward an open area and not at civilians or homes.
Rights groups have long criticized the military’s investigations as lacking independence and say wrongdoing is rarely punished. The sentence marked a rare instance of an Israeli soldier facing consequences for conduct in Gaza. While the military routinely says it investigates alleged violations, most cases don't result in disciplinary action or penalties.
Lebanon’s military said Thursday it had concluded the first phase of a plan to fully deploy across southern Lebanon and disarm non-state groups, notably Hezbollah.
Though Lebanon said it had fulfilled the first phase of a plan to fully deploy across and disarm non-state groups active in the south, the actual text of the ceasefire agreement is vague as to how Hezbollah’s weapons and military facilities throughout the country should be treated.
It says that Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorized facilities starting with the area south of the Litani River — a key line long referenced by the United Nations and others in peacekeeping agreements demarcating southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah insists that the agreement only applies south of the Litani, while Israel maintains that it applies to the whole country. The Lebanese government has said it will eventually remove non-state weapons throughout the country.
Israel said that the development was encouraging but “far from sufficient,” and the country's foreign ministry said that the group still has dozens of compounds and other infrastructure.
The effort to disarm Hezbollah comes after a Washington-brokered ceasefire ended a war between the group and Israel in 2024.
Israel, which continues to strike Lebanon almost daily, said on Thursday that the efforts were encouraging but far from sufficient, asserting that Hezbollah is still attempting to rearm itself in southern Lebanon. Its foreign ministry said in a statement that the group is “rearming faster than it is being disarmed."
Sam Metz reported from Jerusalem. Bassem Mroue and Kareem Chehayeb contributed reporting from Beirut.
Hamas militants search for the remains of Israeli hostage in Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
