Rams vs. Panthers Point Spread: NFL Wild Card Odds, Prediction
The Carolina Panthers will make their first appearance in the NFL playoffs in eight years when they host the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday afternoon in an NFC wild card matchup at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers managed to claim top spot in the NFC South and the No. 4 seed in the NFC despite falling to defeat in their final two regular season games, capped by Saturday’s 16-14 loss to the arch-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Rams saw their bid for the top of the NFC West standings slip away while suffering consecutive road losses in Seattle and in Atlanta in Weeks 16 and 17, but closed out their campaign on a winning note with a decisive 37-20 home victory over Arizona in their season finale to secure the No. 5 seed.
The Rams have rocketed to lofty 10.5-point road favourites on the NFL Wild Card Weekend odds. The Panthers lag as +450 underdogs on the NFL moneyline and the total is listed at 46.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Panthers eked out a rain soaked 31-28 victory when they hosted the Rams in Week 13, marking the start of a middling 3-3 SU run for LA that would ultimately cost them the division title. The loss also snapped the Rams’ two-game head-to-head win streak and leaves them with just one win in their past five visits to Charlotte.
The Panthers also earned the win in their lone previous playoff meeting with the Rams, rolling to a 29-23 home victory in NFC Divisional Round action on their way to a Super Bowl berth in 2005.
On the whole, these squads have typically engaged in low-scoring contests, with the UNDER going 6-3 in their past nine dates. However, the total has reached 45 or higher in three of their past five clashes.
After failing to tally consecutive wins during a season-ending 4-6 SU run, the Panthers enter the postseason buried at the bottom of the NFL futures as +20,000 long shots on the Super Bowl odds and +8,000 on the NFC championship odds.
Perched among the favourites to win the Super Bowl early in the season, the Rams trail only Seattle as a +425 Super Bowl bet and as a +240 wager to win the NFC.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams enter the NFL playoffs in reasonably good health, but could see their tight end depth tested after seeing Tyler Higbee and Terrance Ferguson appear on the injury report following Tuesday’s practice.
However, quarterback Matthew Stafford has plenty of receiving targets at his disposal as he prepares to face a Panthers pass defence that has limited opposing pivots to just a single TD in each of the past four games while recording three INTs.
Stafford finished the regular season in dominant form, connecting for 259 passing yards and four touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Cards, and has tossed for an impressive 34 touchdowns over the past 11 games including two TDs in the team’s November visit to Charlotte.
Davante Adams emerged as Stafford’s favourite target, racking up 789 receiving yards and pulling in 14 TD catches, but has been a non-factor in the past two weeks while nursing a hamstring injury. But Puka Nacua has filled the void down the stretch, making scoring catches over the past five games while topping 100 total yards four times over that stretch.
Carolina Panthers
The long-term weather forecast calls for rain on Saturday afternoon, and the Panthers will likely welcome the chance to engage in another rainy-day matchup with the high-scoring Rams.
Carolina made it back into the playoffs despite scoring just 16 points per game during a shaky 2-2 SU run to close out their schedule, including a disappointing performance against the Bucs last weekend in a loss that took their destiny out of their hands.
Indeed, this team has particularly struggled at home, where they have scored 10 or fewer points three times while losing three of five, and sport the weakest offence of any playoff-bound team with just 18.3 points per game this season.
Despite those woes, Bryce Young still managed to make progress in his third season under centre, tossing for 12 TDs over the final seven games of the season.
But in addition to a Herculean effort on defence, the Panthers will need more from running back Rico Dowdle, who ran for triple-digit rushing yard totals three time in the first half of the season, but averaged just 42.6 yards and ran for just two scores over his final eight outings.
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