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By: Cameron DaSilva | 3 hours ago
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Rams will begin their season on the road, facing the Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday. It’s an early start for the Rams with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. ET, but they’ve performed well in season openers the last two years.
Injuries won’t be of any concern this week with Cam Newton healthy, Todd Gurley ready to go and Cooper Kupp fully recovered from his torn ACL. Thus, it’ll be a fun matchup, one that has the Rams favored by only 2.5 points.
Here are five facts and stats to know for the Week 1 showdown.
Rams have owned Week 1 under Sean McVay
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
The Rams have gotten off to hot starts under McVay the last two seasons. They beat the Raiders 33-13 last year in Week 1, and in 2017, they blew out the Colts – led by Scott Tolzien – 46-9 at home. That’s a combined score of 79-22 with an average winning margin of 28.5. That’s the fifth-highest average of any NFL coach in his first two Week 1 games.
The Panthers pose a much greater threat than the Raiders did last year and the Colts did in 2017, especially with Cam Newton healthy. Traveling across the country for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff doesn’t help, either. McVay will be tested this week in Charlotte.
Panthers are 6-1 in their last seven games against the Rams
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Panthers have owned their matchups with the Rams recently, winning six of the last seven meetings. Their most recent win came in 2016 when they knocked off the Rams 13-10 at the Coliseum. Case Keenum started that game and failed to complete the fourth-quarter comeback after going scoreless in the first three quarters.
This is a very different Rams team now, of course. Jared Goff is the quarterback, Todd Gurley is in an offense that capitalizes on his skill set and Aaron Donald has only gotten better since their last meeting three years ago.
Sixth time Jared Goff will face a fellow No. 1 overall pick
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
This will be the sixth time in his career that Goff takes on a player who was also drafted first overall. In the previous five times, Goff has gone 4-1, including four straight wins. His only loss came to the Cardinals in his rookie season when Carson Palmer was under center.
Since then, he’s beaten Palmer, Eli Manning, Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford. Not exactly the most impressive list of quarterbacks, but Goff has been impressive against every level of competition the last two seasons.
Aaron Donald had two sacks, three TFL in last meeting with Panthers
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Donald didn’t have any Defensive Player of the Year awards on his mantle when the Rams last faced Carolina, but he was still an impactful player. In that 2016 meeting, Donald had two sacks, four tackles, three tackles for loss and landed two hits on Cam Newton.
As a team, the Rams sacked Newton five times. Mark Barron had one, as did Eugene Sims and Cam Thomas. Still, it wasn’t enough to stop Newton, who had 225 yards passing and a touchdown against the Rams that day.
McCaffrey, Gurley were RB2 and RB3 in fantasy last season
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
This game will feature two of the premier backs in the NFL right now – guys who can rack up the fantasy points in a hurry. In PPR scoring last year, Christian McCaffrey finished second with Gurley right behind in third. Of course, that was with Gurley missing two games, but he still finished as the fourth overall player in fantasy last season.
McCaffrey was one of the top players in fantasy drafts this year, frequently going second and third. Gurley’s stock was lower due to concerns about his knee injury, typically being drafted in the second round.
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Rams will begin their season on the road, facing the Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday. It’s an early start for the Rams with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. ET, but they’ve performed well in season openers the last two years.
Injuries won’t be of any concern this week with Cam Newton healthy, Todd Gurley ready to go and Cooper Kupp fully recovered from his torn ACL. Thus, it’ll be a fun matchup, one that has the Rams favored by only 2.5 points.
Here are five facts and stats to know for the Week 1 showdown.
Rams have owned Week 1 under Sean McVay
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
The Rams have gotten off to hot starts under McVay the last two seasons. They beat the Raiders 33-13 last year in Week 1, and in 2017, they blew out the Colts – led by Scott Tolzien – 46-9 at home. That’s a combined score of 79-22 with an average winning margin of 28.5. That’s the fifth-highest average of any NFL coach in his first two Week 1 games.
The Panthers pose a much greater threat than the Raiders did last year and the Colts did in 2017, especially with Cam Newton healthy. Traveling across the country for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff doesn’t help, either. McVay will be tested this week in Charlotte.
Panthers are 6-1 in their last seven games against the Rams
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Panthers have owned their matchups with the Rams recently, winning six of the last seven meetings. Their most recent win came in 2016 when they knocked off the Rams 13-10 at the Coliseum. Case Keenum started that game and failed to complete the fourth-quarter comeback after going scoreless in the first three quarters.
This is a very different Rams team now, of course. Jared Goff is the quarterback, Todd Gurley is in an offense that capitalizes on his skill set and Aaron Donald has only gotten better since their last meeting three years ago.
Sixth time Jared Goff will face a fellow No. 1 overall pick
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
This will be the sixth time in his career that Goff takes on a player who was also drafted first overall. In the previous five times, Goff has gone 4-1, including four straight wins. His only loss came to the Cardinals in his rookie season when Carson Palmer was under center.
Since then, he’s beaten Palmer, Eli Manning, Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford. Not exactly the most impressive list of quarterbacks, but Goff has been impressive against every level of competition the last two seasons.
Aaron Donald had two sacks, three TFL in last meeting with Panthers
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Donald didn’t have any Defensive Player of the Year awards on his mantle when the Rams last faced Carolina, but he was still an impactful player. In that 2016 meeting, Donald had two sacks, four tackles, three tackles for loss and landed two hits on Cam Newton.
As a team, the Rams sacked Newton five times. Mark Barron had one, as did Eugene Sims and Cam Thomas. Still, it wasn’t enough to stop Newton, who had 225 yards passing and a touchdown against the Rams that day.
McCaffrey, Gurley were RB2 and RB3 in fantasy last season
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
This game will feature two of the premier backs in the NFL right now – guys who can rack up the fantasy points in a hurry. In PPR scoring last year, Christian McCaffrey finished second with Gurley right behind in third. Of course, that was with Gurley missing two games, but he still finished as the fourth overall player in fantasy last season.
McCaffrey was one of the top players in fantasy drafts this year, frequently going second and third. Gurley’s stock was lower due to concerns about his knee injury, typically being drafted in the second round.
Rams at Panthers: 5 things to know about Week 1 matchup
The Rams have been dominant in Week 1 under Sean McVay the last two years.
theramswire.usatoday.com