NFL Week 1: Did Cam Newton's injury ensure LAR is your best Cali play?

By: Dan Orlando

FanDuel has the defending NFC Champion LA Rams opening up as only 3 point favorites when they visit a Panthers club that finished 2018 at 7-9 on Sept. 8th.

Even with a healthy Cam Newton- which is now on shaky ground-, this projection is a bit hard to buy into.

Carolina was the 19th ranked defense last season.

Yes they added Brian Burns for the edge in the NFL Draft and signed Gerald McCoy to give this unit a bit more teeth, but I’m not yet buying that the Panthers keep up with Sean McCoy and company just yet.

Last season, Goff landed about 325 yards shy of a 5,000-yard campaign. He threw for 32 TDs and only 12 interceptions. This was in addition to his top RB, Todd Gurley, eclipsing 1,200 yards.

Newton fell short of 3,400 yards while tossing 8 less TDs and one more interception. The offense finished above the mean at 14th overall, a solid 12 spots behind LAR.

Newton was already entering the 2019 opener fresh off of shoulder surgery. On Thursday night, in a preseason matchup against New England, Newton dinged his left ankle/foot, casting doubt on his availability for Week 1.

If Newton can’t go, or is not on his A-game, it’s hard to imagine the Panthers keeping pace with one of the most dynamic offenses in football and finishing Q4 within 3 points of the Rams.

Even if top-shelf Cam is ready to roll, I don’t see the Rams winning by less than 7.

*As always, the analysis and projections in this piece are suggestions based off of opinion, and do not guarantee the outcome of any contest.