History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. That should be a comfort to Panthers fans who are anxious about the team’s Week 1 tilt with the Rams. While LA is one of the toughest teams in the NFL, Carolina has historically done pretty well against them.
The Panthers have played the LA/St. Louis Rams 21 times in the regular season and have won 13 of them, including six of the last seven.
The two teams last met in 2016. Carolina earned a 13-10 victory despite a typically destructive game from Aaron Donald, who collected two sacks on Cam Newton and three tackles for a loss.
This all sounds good, but it’s important to remember that this ain’t your daddy’s Rams. The current group led by Sean McVay is far more potent than the ones the Panthers have been defeating in recent meetings. They scored the second most points in the league last season behind the Chiefs and won the conference championship.
The Rams are the road team in Sunday’s matchup, but they’re still favored to win by 2.5 points.
