A familiar scene unfolded to kick off Wild Card Weekend for Cincinnati Bengals fans, which actually, in a weird way, eased some of the pain over their recent porous safety play.
Jessie Bates' long shadow still looms large in Cincinnati over that perpetual position of need. However, one of the proposed solutions since Bates fled to the Falcons was apparently enjoying a resurgence as a starter for the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers.
I say "apparently" because, well, "resurgence" isn't how I'd categorize this guy's performance as the Los Angeles Rams crushed Carolina's spirits in a 34-31 thriller in Charlotte.
Rams exploit ex-Bengals safety Nick Scott as Panthers (avoidably) lose at home
Some backstory is in order here. Funnily enough, Nick Scott's NFL career began with the Rams in 2019 as a seventh-round pick. He even contributed to beating the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, only to pull a heel turn on LA and sign with Cincinnati two years later.
Scott was supposed to be part of the solution to the Bengals' declining safety room. It decisively did not pan out that way, as Scott's skill set was a bad fit for what Cincinnati was asking him to do. Or so a pro-Scott piece in The Charlotte Observer this week contends. He graded out as the very worst safety in the NFL among 95 qualifiers in PFF's grades during that 2023 campaign.
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Kinda feel like that feature story, where many Panthers teammates had glowing things to say about Scott, might've jinxed him before the playoffs got underway.
The Rams, in essence, spam targeted Scott all afternoon on Saturday. He yielded six catches on eight attempts for 95 yards, including the first TD of the game by Puka Nacua.
That 9⃣ to 1⃣2⃣ connection. 🤌
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 10, 2026
📺 @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/vzZ517ahnL
Also, you tell me. The film is the film. Not trying to imply anything, but is it possible that Scott made a business decision when Kyren Williams crossed the goal line for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter?
Offense answers. TOUCHDOWN!
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 11, 2026
📺 @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/n0gv95uN82
I know people like to dump on PFF grades and suggest they're categorically wrong. Umm...you can't fake target rate, and Scott's impact was self-evident in real time, regardless of what PFF says.
That said, Scott did have the worst real-time grade among all Carolina defenders at 32.6, including 39.6 in coverage. Not helping the cause was his admittedly tough 15-yard penalty on this Davante Adams hit that led to a Rams field goal to put them up 20-17:
Davante Adams just got ANNIHILATED pic.twitter.com/UaWT07vAIx
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) January 10, 2026
Aaaaand oh yeah, Scott could've prevented the aforementioned Williams TD if he'd not let Nacua break up a would-be interception in the end zone on 3rd-and-1 from the Panthers 30-yard line.
Rough timing for Scott to have such a nightmarish all-around performance. I actually feel for him.
Us Who Dey Heads aren't in tremendous shock over it, though. Scott signed a three-year contract with the Bengals and didn't make it past his first season in the Queen City.