The Carolina Panthers pulled off a surprise victory this Sunday, defeating the NFL-leading Los Angeles Rams 31-28 in an exciting Week 13 game. With this win, the Panthers improved their record to 7-6 and remain firmly in the hunt for the NFC South lead, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominate with 7-5 after defeating the Arizona Cardinals 20-17.

Bryce Young was the star of the Carolina team, accumulating 206 passing yards and three touchdown passes that secured the victory. For their part, despite the loss, the Rams' quarterback, Matthew Stafford, made his mark by breaking a historic record: he achieved 28 consecutive touchdown passes without an interception, surpassing Tom Brady's mark of 25.

The Los Angeles loss tightened the fight for the top spot in the NFC West. The Rams maintain first place with a 9-3 record, but are now being chased by the San Francisco 49ers, who defeated the Cleveland Browns 26-8 and reached 9-4.

Other results of the week

The week also brought changes in the AFC South. The Houston Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts 20-16, dropping the Colts to second place with an 8-4 record. The Texans are third at 7-5, while the Jacksonville Jaguars took over first place after beating the Tennessee Titans 25-3, who have a better record in divisional games. In other notable results, the Miami Dolphins notched their third consecutive victory, defeating the New Orleans Saints 21-17, and the New York Jets edged the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 in the final second. The week began on Thanksgiving Day, with the Green Bay Packers beating the Detroit Lions 31-24, the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-28, and the Cincinnati Bengals beating the Baltimore Ravens 32-14. On Friday, the Chicago Bears upset the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles 24-15. The action will conclude this Monday with the game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.