The Carolina Panthers have barely squeaked into the playoffs and will face a tough test in order to advance to the Divisional Round as they host the Los Angeles Rams.
With Davante Adams healthy and this Rams defense looking to avenge their Week 13 loss in Carolina, it will most likely be a Rams runaway show with MVP candidate Matthew Stafford leading the charge.
Davante Adams will return for the Rams after missing the final three games of the regular season with a hamstring issue. Before that, he was the best red zone receiver in the NFL, scoring 14 TDs in 14 games at the age of 33.
His connection with Stafford was through the roof post bye week, scoring 8 TDs in five completely healthy contests. With McVay running the ship, you know he will target Davante in the red zone.
A touchdown or two will get Adams's confidence back up as the Rams make yet another playoff appearance under the McVay/Stafford combo. He scored twice against Carolina in their Week 13 matchup.
Let’s discuss the Carolina backfield. Hubbard had a bad fumble in their Week 17 loss to Seattle, which shifted much of the momentum. With that being said against aggressive defenses, Hubbard is their go-to passing-down back.
Rico Dowdle caught 39 balls this season compared to Hubbard’s 30, even with Chuba missing two games and serving as the pure backup for at least four to five games this season.
He’s hit this over in 9 of 15 games this season, and against LA in Week 13, he went for over 120 total yards and a score through the air.
While I love Rico Dowdle and his story, the backfield has shifted into a pure committee towards the end of the season. Between Hubbard’s success against the Rams and Dowdle’s late-season struggles (only one game over 3.3 YPC post bye week), I expect limited opportunities for the running back in this game against the Rams.
Post Week 14 bye, Rico has not hit this prop mark, and against a feisty Rams defensive front, I’ll take the under in this spot.