Carolina Panthers vs. Los Angeles Rams Betting Odds, Tips, Free Pick 10/16/22

Week 6 NFL

Date/Time: Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 4:05PM EDT

Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

TV: Fox

Point Spread: CAR +10.5/LAR -10.5 (Bovada – These guys will give you a 50% bonus up to $250, they offer TONS of bets, rebates on ALL your bets and they have the most amazing live betting platform on the web! A must have in your football betting arsenal!)

Over/Under Total: 40.5

The Carolina Panthers come to SoFi Stadium on Sunday for an NFC showdown with the Los Angeles Rams. On Sunday, the Panthers dropped their fourth out of five games this season in a 37-15 loss to the 49ers on Sunday, which led to some franchise moves. This week might not give them what the doctor ordered in a road game against the defending Super Bowl champs. On Sunday, the Rams dropped one to the Cowboys, 22-10, for their second straight loss, and at 2-3 will be eager to atone for their bad start to the season and might be in line to do that against a Panthers’ team that has officially hit the rocks. Who can get us the cover in Inglewood?

Carolina in Trouble?

Beyond just a rough start to the season, they now are saddled with a mid-season coaching firing, with Matt Rhule having gotten the boot after the ugly loss to the Niners on Sunday. Steve Wilks will serve as head coach on an interim basis and was the former head coach for the Cardinals for a season. But suffice to say, it hasn’t worked out this season. It’s unclear who thought it would go different, as there wasn’t a lot to get people excited about the Panthers heading into this season. And it’s gone worse than expected. Baker Mayfield has not been exciting at quarterback, Christian McCaffrey isn’t being used right, and receivers like DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson often disappear for long stretches during games.

We’ve seen teams actually pick up the pace a little in the immediate aftermath of a midseason coaching firing. Oftentimes, that coach was holding them back, or morale was low, with players and assistants losing faith in their leader. Not that the identity of the coach makes the bad things turn good on this team, but you can sometimes get a little energy uptick when this happens. Alas, coaching isn’t their only other issue, with Baker Mayfield getting hurt and looking to miss the next few weeks. Enter PJ Walker, a capable backup who has worked with this offense before. Still, along with star corner Jaycee Horn listed as questionable, one wonders if it’s all falling apart a little for the Panthers.

Granted, this is a tough road spot, and confidence on Carolina is low for a reason, and it’s righteous on a lot of levels. But many of these perceived problems might not be as bad as it seems on paper. Unless one is on the inside of the situation, how do we know Rhule being gone isn’t a good thing? With all the shoddy play we’ve seen from Mayfield, are we sure Walker won’t be an upgrade? Sure, he couldn’t shine in camp to beat out Mayfield to win the starting gig, but maybe he can connect better in games with McCaffrey and the rest of this offense.

Good Spot for the Rams This Week?

On paper, it absolutely is. They need to start winning before the Super Bowl hangover notions become a real thing. And with Horn iffy for Carolina, the connection alone of Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp looms large this week. It’s been something they can rely upon with other areas of the offense in a bit of a flux. The muddled backfield with Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson isn’t working out. They’re not really able to identify roles aerially outside of Kupp with a big mish-mosh, and no one has distinguished themselves. A defense that was the staple of their success has descended to barely-average status. But they’re at home against a team so bad that their coach had to go, so it’s all relative. They aren’t upholding the standards they set perhaps, but the Rams are in a good spot this week.

If a struggling Carolina offense were to thrive in this spot, it would be hard to find answers for the Rams. It has been a real grind for the Panthers. Christian McCaffrey is getting production in some games, but outside of that, the sources of yards have been few. The Rams are at home. A record of 2-3 and a two-score loss to a Cooper Rush-led Cowboys last week should be ample to arouse the urgency of a Rams team that still has a lot going for it. It’s just that on paper, the Rams are being served a meatball to get back to .500, figure some things out, and then attack the rest of their season with a renewed sense of purpose.

Lay the Points

Possible second wind by Carolina and the Rams looking bad notwithstanding, this has the looks of a spot where the Rams can pounce. And even if they don’t, I’m not sure how much optimism one can have about a Carolina offense that is going to have to come up with something. In other words, even if the Rams’ offense comes out flat and they don’t find much other than Stafford connecting with Kupp, their defense still has enough juice to quell a third-stringer and an offense that hasn’t thrived this season. I’ll take the Rams in this one.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I’m betting on the Los Angeles Rams minus 10.5 points. Question: Did you know that you could be betting on football games (basketball too!) at -105 odds instead of -110? How many hundreds (or thousands) of dollars would you have saved over the past couple years betting at discounted odds? TONS! Be wise! Make the switch today to BAS Sportsbook!