Rams Spoil Panthers’ Home Opener In Tight Battle

LA spoiled a huge performance by Christian McCaffrey

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Rams @ Panthers

★★★1/2 (Rams -125)

Outcome: 30-27 Rams 

BetQL assigned the Rams a 3.5-Star moneyline rating against the Panthers in Carolina. The Rams are fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, so it was a bit odd to see them as such small favorites, even on the road. The Rams finished 6-2 as the visiting team in the regular season last year.

Word out of preseason was that Cam Newton’s foot wasn’t 100 percent after suffering an injury in Week 3 of the preseason. This alone should have skewed the consensus odds more dramatically. Newton went 25/38 passing with 239 yards through the air with an interception. He looked incredibly rusty and his foot was obviously a bother, as he logged negative yards on the ground over three official rushes.

But, at least he dressed to impress.

Christian McCaffrey did everything for Carolina and kept them within striking distance with his 128 yards on 10 carries and 10 catches for 81 additional yards. He managed to rush for two scores and was incredibly effective.

Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff had a below-average performance, failing to reach 200 yards passing. However, the Rams rushing attack was in full force as Todd Gurley (14 carries, 97 yards) and Malcolm Brown (11 carries, 53 yards, two touchdowns) performed quite well in a tandem. The Rams also benefited from Dante Fowler Jr.’s two sacks and newcomer Clay Matthews’ sack on Newton. 

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