Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers are fully through the looking glass now. Despite being 1-3 after their bye week and 8-9 overall on the season, they have somehow managed to win the NFC South and “earn” a home playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. Let’s take a look at some rough odds:
Rams: -10.5 (+100)
Panthers: +10.5 (-122)
46.5 (-110/-110)
Rams: -590
Panthers: +430
These are the longest odds in the playoffs by a mile and a half. The Houston Texans are the next closest road favorites at -3.5 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nobody is giving the Panthers much credit for their Week 13 win over these same Rams or for their “playing dead all season” strategy. Remember that the home team is still typically credited with a -3 favor on the spread, so this same game in Los Angeles would see the Rams as -16.5 favorites.
On the bright side, the Panthers still haven’t won a game they were favored in this season. On the brighter side, it seems clear that barring major injuries to every other team in the playoffs, they won’t be favored in a single game they play this post season—even if they manage to play more than a single game.
The above odds were current as of the writing of this post. You can take a look at—and place a bet on—live odds for this game and more here at FanDuel Sportsbook.
