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The Los Angeles Rams lost only five games during the 2025 NFL season, with three of those setbacks coming over their final six contests. They have the opportunity to avenge the first of those three defeats when they kick off Wild Card Weekend against the Carolina Panthers at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Los Angeles (12-5) reached double figures in victories for the third straight season and seventh time in nine years but is the No. 5 seed in the NFC as it finished two games behind the No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. In addition to dropping a 38-37 overtime decision in a showdown at Seattle in Week 16, the Rams can look to a 31-28 loss at Carolina three weeks earlier as a reason they failed to repeat as division champions.

Despite being a wild card, Los Angeles still is considered one of the favorites to win Super Bowl LX. After the Seahawks (+330), the Rams are the second betting favorite to capture the Lombardi Trophy at DraftKings with odds of +425.

Carolina (8-9) returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 as the fifth team in NFL history to reach the postseason with a losing record, not including the strike-shortened 1982 season. The Panthers also are the second team in four years to win the NFC South title with an 8-9 mark (2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers) as, despite losing 16-14 to Tampa Bay in their regular season finale, they captured the crown via tiebreaker with the Bucs and Atlanta Falcons - all of whom had identical records.

The Rams are 10.5-point favorites and the over/under for total points scored is 46.5 in the latest DraftKings NFL odds for Los Angeles vs. Carolina in the Wild Card Round.

Here is a look at the Rams vs. Panthers matchup from a betting perspective.

Rams vs. Panthers odds

  • Opening spread: Rams -10
  • Opening money line: Rams -599, Panthers +440
  • Opening total: 46.5

The point spread for this matchup has barely moved since opening at Rams -10 at DraftKings, increasing just one-half point. Things aren't much different than they were when the teams squared off at Carolina in Week 13, as Los Angeles opened as a 10.5-point favorite in that contest and the spread moved down to 10 by kickoff.

Rams betting profile

  • Opening win total: 10.5 wins  
  • W/L record: 12-5
  • ATS record: 12-5
  • O/U record: 10-7

The Rams have covered the spread in seven of their last 10 games - including the loss to the Seahawks in Week 16, when they were 1.5-point underdogs. They were favored by double digits in two of those 10 contests and trounced the New Orleans Saints 34-10 as 18.5-point favorites in Week 9 and defeated the Arizona Cardinals 37-20 last weekend as 14.5-point favorites. Los Angeles lost by three at Carolina as a 10-point favorite in Week 13, but history is on its side when it comes to being favored by at least 10 in the postseason.

Prior to this year, a team has been a double-digit favorite 13 times in the wild card round and covered the spread on 10 occasions. The only clubs that failed to cover double-figure spreads were the 2010 Saints, 2020 Buccaneers and 2022 Buffalo Bills, with New Orleans being the lone team to lose outright. 

Only four of Los Angeles' 12 wins this season were by fewer than 14 points, with all four of them being one-score affairs. The Rams made easy work of the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round last year, and you can be assured they'll be looking to atone for their Week 13 loss and beat up on the Panthers this time around. MVP candidate Matthew Stafford led the league in passing yards (4,707) and touchdown tosses (46) this year and finished the regular season by throwing at least four TD passes in a game for the fourth time in the 2025 NFL season.

Panthers betting profile

  • Opening win total: 6.5 wins  
  • W/L record: 8-9
  • ATS record: 10-7 
  • O/U record: 7-10

The Panthers have been on a pattern of late, alternating covers and non-covers over their last 10 games. They obviously covered in their regular season meeting with the Rams but if the trend continues, they won't accomplish the feat this weekend.

In order to break the cycle, Carolina will need another solid performance from Bryce Young. The 2023 first overall draft pick threw for only 206 yards in the Week 13 victory over Los Angeles but completed 15 of his 20 pass attempts and matched his season high with three touchdown tosses. Rookie of the Year contender Tetairoa McMillan had just one reception in that contest, but it was a 43-yard scoring catch with 6:34 remaining in the fourth quarter that gave the Panthers a 31-28 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

The Panthers have lost by double figures six times this year, with five of the setbacks being by 11 or more points. However, they led the NFL with seven wins as underdogs and posted a pair as double-digit dogs, defeating the Rams and the Green Bay Packers 16-13 at +13.5 in Week 9.

Rams-Panthers prop pick

Kyren Williams Over 63.5 rushing yards (-110): Williams registered his third consecutive 1,000-yard season, finishing sixth in the NFL with 1,252 yards. The 25-year-old only posted one 100-yard performance but rushed for at least 65 yards in 13 of his 17 games. He gained 72 yards on 13 carries against the Panthers, who were 20th in the league against the run with an average of 123.3 yards allowed and finished 11th among the 14 playoff teams in that category. Williams has gone Over his projected total in each of his last five outings, averaging 79.2 yards in that span, and has averaged at least five per carry in five of his past six contests.