The Series: With the 20-10 victory, St. Louis ended a four-game losing streak against Carolina - who leads the all-time series 11-8. From 1995-2001, the Panthers and Rams played each other 14 times as members of the NFC West division prior to NFL realignment.
For Starters: Running back Jonathan Stewart made his first start this year in place of DeAngelo Williams, who was inactive because of a sprained foot suffered versus San Francisco (10/24/10). Dante Rosario started his third game of the season as the Panthers opened in a two tight end set. Defensively, Nick Hayden earned his first start in 2010, replacing Ed Johnson at defensive tackle.
Smith Catches Milestone: Wide receiver Steve Smith recorded his 600th career reception on a five-yard catch in the fourth quarter and finished the game with a team-high nine receptions for 85 yards. He leads the Panthers with 26 catches for 309 yards and two touchdowns this season.
Smith ranks first in team history with 60 total touchdowns [52 pass, 6 return, 2 run], 52 receiving touchdowns and 32 games with 100 or more receiving yards and stands second with 600 receptions, 8,639 receiving yards, and 362 points scored.
Ready for Moore: Quarterback Matt Moore completed 23-of-37 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions to produce a 51.0 quarterback rating. He threw a 17-yard touchdown to wide receiver Brandon LaFell in the fourth quarter. In five games with four starts this season, Moore has completed 76-of-137 passes for 844 yards and five touchdowns with 10 interceptions.
Stewart Carries The Load: Running back Jonathan Stewart rushed for a team-leading 30 yards on 14 carries and caught one pass for eight yards. He is second on the Panthers with 178 yards and one touchdown on 64 attempts this season.
Nowhere To Run: The Panthers set a team record for the third-lowest average rushing gain (minimum 15 attempts) with a 1.47 average on 17 carries for 25 yards. Only a 0.73 average on 15 attempts for 11 yards versus San Diego (12/17/00) and 1.44 average on 16 carries for 23 yards at Kansas City (12/10/00) are worse.
Carolina's 25 rushing yards rank as the fifth fewest in team history behind the 10 at New Orleans (10/15/00), 11 versus San Diego (12/17/00), 13 at Green Bay (12/12/99) and 23 at Kansas City (12/10/00).
The Panthers came close to equaling the team record for the fewest rushing first downs in a game with two - previously accomplished twice this season, most recently versus San Francisco (10/24/10). Carolina has gained no rushing first downs twice, most recently at Detroit (10/16/05), and one rushing first down on 12 occasions, most recently versus New Orleans (11/15/07).
Defensively, the Panthers tied the team record for the second fewest rushing first downs allowed with one - previously accomplished nine times, most recently versus St. Louis (11/19/06). The team record for the fewest rushing first downs allowed is zero versus Arizona (11/19/95).
Takeaway/Giveaway: Carolina did not force any turnovers. The Panthers turned it over four times on one fumble and three interceptions to finish with a minus-four turnover ratio. The four giveaways led to 10 points for St. Louis. The Panthers have a negative-10 turnover ratio this season, compiling an 0-2 record when having a positive turnover margin and a 1-4 record when having a negative turnover margin.
Sakrete Sacks: The Panthers collected two sacks against the Rams and have gathered 11 this season. Carolina was credited with a team sack when St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford was forced out of the pocket and ran out of bounds for a one-yard loss in the first quarter. On the next play, linebacker James Anderson took Bradford down for a six-yard loss.
During the 2010 season, Sakrete, a leader in concrete and concrete-related products, is donating $100 to the BVC Playground Build for every sack Carolina records. Through seven games, $1,100 has been raised.
The Specialists: Kicker John Kasay connected on his only field goal attempt - converting from 44 yards - and his only extra point chance. He has been successful on nine-of-10 field goal attempts and perfect on all eight of his extra point opportunities for a team-leading 35 points this season.
Kasay ranks seventh in NFL history with 417 made field goals and eighth with 1,766 points scored. He is the Panthers' all-time leader with 335 made field goals and 1,425 points scored. Additionally, he is tied for second with Morten Andersen for the most field goals of 50 yards or more in NFL history with 40 behind Jason Hanson with 45.
Punter Jason Baker generated a gross average of 44.4 yards and net average of 37.8 yards with one inside the 20, one touchback and long of 53 yards on five punts. His gross average improved to 43.5 yards and his net average increased to 36.9 yards with 10 punts inside the 20, two touchbacks and long of 57 yards this season.
Inactives: The following eight players were inactive for the Panthers: wide receiver Armanti Edwards, linebacker Abdul Hodge, defensive tackle Andre Neblett, tackle Jeff Otah, quarterback Tony Pike, wide receiver Devin Thomas, running back DeAngelo Williams and cornerback C.J. Wilson.
Claw Marks: Rookie wide receiver Brandon LaFell scored his first career touchdown on a 17-yard reception in the fourth quarter and ended the game with four catches for 40 yards. He leads the team with an average of 14.3 yards per reception on 15 catches for 214 yards this season...The Panthers posted a 100 percent efficiency rating in the red zone, scoring one touchdown on one trip inside the Rams' 20-yard line. Carolina has been successful on seven-of-13 red zone opportunities, scoring four touchdowns and three field goals for a 53.8-percent conversion rate and 30.8-percent touchdown conversion rate, this season.
