The 2025-26 NFL playoffs are here, and we have great Saturday Wild Card bets for the first game this weekend between the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (12-5) and No. 4 Carolina Panthers (8-9). It’s a rematch from Week 13, where the Panthers already upset the Rams once, but they’ll have to do it again with the season on the line.
Let’s look at the current NFL odds for this NFC Wild-Card matchup with our best bets for tonight.
Best Bets for Los Angeles Rams vs. Carolina Panthers
Tonight’s NFL odds are for what could be a mismatch on paper between the Rams and Panthers, had we not just seen Carolina pull off the upset a month ago. However, that game certainly had some lucky bounces go their way with a deflected interception in the red zone, a pick-six, a strip-sack in scoring range, and two of Carolina’s touchdowns came on fourth-down passes.
Despite the Rams losing the turnover battle 3-0 on the road, they were leading that game late before rookie Tetairoa McMillan caught his only pass of the game for a 43-yard touchdown. The Panthers have gotten some healthy reinforcements on defense who didn’t play that day, including Pro Bowl corner Jaycee Horn. But the Rams are getting Davante Adams and guard Kevin Dotson back for the No. 1 offense and an MVP-caliber season for Matthew Stafford.
The Rams have won a Super Bowl with their main pieces in 2021, while the Panthers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 with a young core. There’s a gap in talent and experience for sure, but the Rams have blown enough winnable games already that this one could be an upset brewing.
Sunday Night Odds (Panthers +10.5)
The NFL odds opened with the Rams a 10-point road favorite. If the current line of 10.5 holds, it’d be the biggest road favorite in NFL playoff history. However, home underdogs of 7+ points are 4-0-1 ATS in NFL playoff history, and the Rams have already lost 3 games this year as a favorite of 7.5+ points to the Panthers (+10), Falcons (+7.5), and 49ers (+8.5). Otherwise, the Rams are 12-5 ATS but have blown some games.
The total for this matchup is 46.5 points. The Week 13 game ended 31-28 (59 points), and Carolina has 5-of-6 best scoring games at home this season. The Rams have been leaky on defense in the last month, falling from the No. 1 scoring defense to No. 10 to end the season. The over is 5-1 when the Rams are a road favorite and a league-high 7-1 in all road games for the Rams this year. Definitely leaning towards the over here.
Sunday Night Picks (Panthers +10.5)
For our best Saturday wild card prediction, we are going to trust the Panthers with their intimate knowledge of McVay’s schemes and coaching staff to cover the historic spread at home. The Panthers are 5-2 ATS as a home underdog, and you might be shocked to know teams with a negative-50 scoring differential or worse are 4-1 in their first playoff game, so playing at home does matter in games like this.
It could be rain in the forecast too, which could hurt the Rams as a high-volume passing team that struggles to run in short-yardage situations and has a poor field goal unit. We’ve seen Matthew Stafford turn the ball over six times on the road in recent losses to the Panthers and Falcons, so he’s not a lock to play clean football.
Also, Young has thrived against the best opponents in his career after nearly upsetting the Chiefs and Eagles last season. He isn’t likely to win this game, but he can certainly keep it close against a defense that isn’t playing that well and with the confidence that they can hang with this team as they already beat them. Give us the Panthers with the historic points on their side.
Expert Pick: Panthers +10.5 (-115) at Bovada
Panthers’ Bryce Young (200+ Passing Yards)
You can say many things about Bryce Young, but he is a competitor. He has 12 game-winning drives in three years, and that accounts for all but two of his 14 wins as an NFL starter. He delivers in those spots at an unexpectedly high rate, and many of his best games are against the best teams.
Even last week against Tampa Bay, with a chance to win the NFC South outright, Young threw for 266 yards and 2 touchdowns in the rain. The Panthers lost because of some poor officiating that went against them, but Young did his part. He also threw for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns against these Rams at home, and the Rams have continued to struggle on defense.
We’ll trust Young in a favorable game script where either he steps up against a struggling defense, or he has to throw a lot to keep up with Stafford and hits his over with well over 200 yards here.
Expert Pick: Bryce Young to Record 200+ Passing Yards (+100) at Bovada
Your Gameplan for Saturday Wild Card
For your Saturday Wild Card gameplan, we like the over and the Panthers to keep it close with the Rams by covering the 10.5-point spread. For NFL player props, we’re going to trust Bryce Young to throw for 200+ yards in his first playoff game.
You can always tail our Saturday Wild Card picks or play different games this weekend. Just keep in mind that timing is everything in sports betting. If you register an account at different offshore sportsbooks, then you maximize your chance of finding the best odds and lines for the NFL playoffs and more. Consider an option like Bovada to find competitive odds for NFL games like Rams vs. Panthers.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
