Los Angeles at Carolina

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.