The Los Angeles Rams play Week 1 of the regular season against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Although their favorites for the matchup, anything can happen in the NFL.
With that in mind, there are a lot of questions you could ask. Will the defense take a step forward this year after a step back last season? Can Jared Goff rebound from a poor postseason and brutal Super Bowl? Is Todd Gurley healthy, what exactly is going on with that whole situation?
Those questions will start to be answered on Sunday. How will the Rams perform though?
Here are four bold predictions for the Los Angeles Rams Week 1 matchup with the Carolina Panthers.
4. Todd Gurley Runs Wild
A lot has been said about Todd Gurley since the end of last season. With the rumors about his knee injury all over the place, expectations are down.
Some people just believe he won't be used as much this year. That's completely reasonable, especially when you consider the Rams added Darrell Henderson in the draft this year. Clearly, they want to take some of the pressure off Gurley.
However, other people believe he won't even be close to his old self. There are rumors that the Rams will really cut back on his usage and that even when he is used, the arthritis will hamper him too much.
In Week 1 though, Todd Gurley's going to shut up a lot of doubters. The Rams will be a lot more liberal with their use of him than people assume. He'll use those carries to go vintage Gurley and pick up a lot of yards, as well as reel in some passes as well.
At the end of the day, it will be another dominant outing for Todd Gurley.
3. John Johnson Starts the Year Off Right
John Johnson's one of the best safeties in the NFL. He'll remind people of that pretty quickly on Sunday. Johnson will put together a strong game.
That strong game will include some tackles, good defensive plays – and most importantly an interception.
Cam Newton is one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. However, he's prone to some accuracy issues. His completion percentage saw a major spike last year, but he's still under 60% for his career.
More importantly, he tossed 13 interceptions last season. That was just three off the most in the NFL, despite Newton appearing in just 14 games.
For those that didn't feel like doing the math, 13 interceptions in 14 games means he was throwing about one per contest.
John Johnson is the perfect candidate to snatch one this week.
2. Aaron Donald Goes Nuts
You might argue that this isn't a bold prediction. Aaron Donald is the best defensive player in the NFL. How often do you hear defensive tackles get mentioned in MVP races? Exactly.
Donald racked up 20.5 sacks last season, but actually started off slow – picking up none in the first three weeks.
He's going to get off to a much faster start this season though. Donald will be a constant throne in the Carolina Panthers' side.
Look for him to get into the backfield early and often. I'm talking tackles for loss, and wrapping up Cam Newton multiple times. Donald will walk off the field at the end of the day with 2-plus sacks, multiple tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
This will start his MVP campaign off to an amazing start, and get the Los Angeles Rams to 1-0.
Speaking of 1-0 starts …
1. Rams Win in a Blowout
The Los Angeles Rams were one of the most consistently dominant teams in the NFL last season. They faltered in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, but you can excuse a team for falling to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
The Rams will use Week 1 as a reminder to the rest of the NFL exactly who they are. Sadly for the Carolina Panthers, they're the team that has to deal with it.
The defense will create panic for Carolina all day. Cam Newton will have no time in the pocket and the running game will be stifled. Meanwhile, Jared Goff has more than enough weapons to start his year off fantastically, and Todd Gurley will run all over the place.
The Los Angeles Rams will walk away with a win of at least three scores, reminded everyone that they're serious Super Bowl contenders.
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