Carolina Panthers vs Los Angeles Rams Point Spread Picks

Los Angeles has been a moneymaker this season, going 12-5 ATS, and the Rams are 7-0 ATS in their past seven January games. They came back to cover a 14.5-point spread in defeating Arizona 37-20 on Sunday with Matthew Stafford throwing for 259 yards and four TDs. Stafford has 4,707 passing yards and 46 TDs with only eight interceptions. The Rams will not take Carolina lightly as they look to avenge a 31-28 loss to the Panthers on this same field on Nov. 30. The Panthers are in the playoffs with a losing record, and they have lost eight of their past 10 January games. They finished the regular season with four losses in their last six games, and the Panthers have scored 17 or fewer points in eight of their past 11 games. Carolina had only 19 yards rushing on 14 carries, and it was outgained 338-285 while losing 16-14 to Tampa Bay on Saturday before backing into the postseason. Bryce Young threw for 266 yards and two TDs with an interception. The Panthers are 0-5 ATS following an ATS win, 3-8 ATS after totaling more than 250 yards passing their previous game, and 5-12-1 ATS their past 18 games versus teams with winning records. Take the Rams. 

Combine the Rams (-525) and the Seahawks (-800) into a 2-team parlay at -295 odds.

GAME OF THE YEAR

Matt Ruhle's reign mercifully came to an end after going 11-27 in nearly 2 1/2 years and Steve Wilks takes over on an interim basis. Wilks is a former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, but more importantly a new coach has proven to be a good betting proposition in his first game as the players rally around him and want to impress the new guy along with the feeling that things have to get better. Los Angeles clearly is experiencing a Super Bowl hangover and has looked no better than an average team this season. The defense has not created a turnover in three games, the offensive line is a mess and Matthew Stafford continues to be under duress and was sacked five times in Sunday's loss against Dallas plus he lost two fumbles and threw an interception. The Rams are #26 in total yards while averaging only 16.0 points. The oft-injured Christian McCaffrey had 104 yards of offense for Carolina against San Francisco amid trade rumors. Baker Mayfield is dealing with a high-ankle sprain, which would give PJ Walker the start if the struggling Mayfield can't play and that could be another thing in the Panthers' favor. Carolina is 7-2 ATS its past nine games after a double-digit home loss and Los Angeles is 3-9 ATS its past 12 versus teams with losing records and 1-6 ATS its past seven games overall. The Rams have gone UNDER four of their five games this season and the Panthers have stayed UNDER three of their past four. The Panthers are 7-2 UNDER after allowing at least 30 points their previous game and the Rams have stayed UNDER 20 of 27 home games and they are 20-8-1 UNDER in October. Take the Panthers ATS as my NFL ATS GAME OF THE YEAR Max Play and the UNDER as a Max Play.

The LA Rams got to the Super Bowl, but the high-powered offense fell flat and did not even find the end-zone once. The Rams went for 30+ points in 12 games last season. The Rams defense was not as good. They allowed 30+ just twice in their final 13 games a season ago, but six times in 2018. The 4-4 finish to the season has to be a concern. Has this team missed its opportunity? Carolina started the season last year at 6-2 but as the health of QB Cam Newton deteriorated, so did the Panthers. Newton will start the season healthy and has a new throwing motion that should help him stay healthy, and when he is, the Panthers are a different team. If Carolina can get past LA the early schedule is pretty soft, and this team could come out of the gate as a surprise. Super Bowl losers very often struggle in Week 1 of the next season, and the optics of LA late last year are not encouraging. Take the points on Carolina.

Carolina was in a must-win situation last week and saved their season with big win over Arizona. They have another must win here this week at LA - their only road game in a four-game stretch. After winning the first at home, they will have two more after this one on the road. Last week was the first game since the opener where they had a turnover advantage, something they thrived on last season. The Rams have been heading in the wrong direction after a 3-1 start, which surprised many, but have fallen in each of their last three games, slipping under .500 at 3-4. The Panthers have won five of the last six meetings against the Rams, who have failed to reach the 20-point mark in five of their seven games. Now the defense is paying the price for having to be on the field too much, and they have given up 30+ in three of their last five games. That is bad news vs. Cam Newton and company, who have touched 30 points in four of the Panthers last six games. The distance is getting wide between these teams, so play Carolina on the moneyline.