CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Davante Adams stepped onto the field with their connection shaky, their lead evaporated, their worst flaws digging into their skin, the season they dreamed of quickly slipping away.

“Let’s go snatch these guys’ hearts,” Stafford told Adams.

And then he led a game-winning drive in a 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium to advance through the wild-card round.

Some men fear chaos. Others dream of it. And here were two star players who’d only shared a field together for 14 games in their 29 combined seasons in the league.

The referee placed the ball on the turf. Two minutes and 34 seconds were left on the clock. And then Stafford went to a place so unlike most of the game, and so very much like the 17-year career that got him here.

He connected with Puka Nacua for 7 yards on his first throw, then came back to the left side and hit Adams for a 10-yard gain. Then right to Adams for a 6-yard pickup. Then to Nacua up the seam for 18 yards. And then to Konata Mumpfield on the right side for 11 yards.

All of a sudden, the 37-year-old quarterback was in a race against two clocks: The game clock and the one in his body, specifically regarding an ailing back that kept him out for weeks last summer while Adams took the practice field without him.

With those two completions to Adams, the wide receiver realized what Stafford already knew. Their moment of realizing their dreams was right here. There was no better place to be on earth.

“I literally smiled in the moment,” Adams said. “That was one of the most gangster things you could say.”

And then, from the Panthers’ 19-yard line with 43 seconds remaining, Stafford delivered the dagger. He dropped back out of shotgun and fired a dart up the right seam into perfect one-on-one coverage, the leather ball just edging past the swatting right arm of Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig and sticking to the outstretched hands of Colby Parkinson as the tight end spun into the end zone.

“Why is no one celebrating?” Parkinson recalled saying after the touchdown. “I’m in. Come on.”

Stafford’s throw to Parkinson had a completion probability of 27.3 percent, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. It was the second-lowest probability of any completed pass in this back-and-forth slugfest, behind only the 7-yard touchdown Bryce Young had thrown to Jalen Coker two minutes before to take the lead in the aftermath of the Panthers blocking a Rams punt.

Stafford wasn’t worried, though. It was his 42nd career fourth-quarter comeback and 54th career game-winning drive, both top-five marks in NFL history.

“You gotta live for moments like that, man,” said cornerback Cobie Durant, who had an interception in the first quarter. “Just to see Matt drive the ball down the field like that, you don’t want to be nowhere else.”