The Rams and Bucs square off in a much-anticipated matchup in Week 3. J.B. Long details the great start to Matthew Stafford’s career in Horns, how center Brian Allen is relishing his starting role, and all the challenges that come along with facing Tom Br
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Week 3 Preview: Rams vs. Buccaneers in Game of the Week from SoFi Stadium
After 54 years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first franchise to host a Super Bowl.
And now all eyes are on the Los Angeles Rams as they look to repeat the feat at SoFi Stadium, especially this Sunday when they welcome the defending champions.
It's far too early for conference championship game previews. Nonetheless, it feels like the top spot in the NFC is at stake.
While there are three other NFC unbeatens (Carolina, San Francisco, and Arizona), and plenty of one-loss contenders (Green Bay, Seattle, and NFC East Placeholder), this is the game with the highest stakes in Week Three.
Quick Pause to Appreciate
Every so often, I'm reminded not to take these moments for granted. It wasn't too long ago that the thought of the NFL situating a Rams home game against the defending champs as a showcase event would've been hard to fathom.
These days, prime time and national window opportunities are the norm.
The NFL teed this up and both teams delivered 2-0 starts.
How awesome is it to play the game of the week – perhaps the entire regular season – with every expectation that your team can-and-should win if they perform in all three phases.
Separation Sunday (and Monday)
That being said, all the featured games this week are golden.
Opposite the tilt in Inglewood, the loser of the Seahawks and Vikings is going to have a long road back to contention in the division. That should be intense in Minneapolis.
Sunday Night Football has Green Bay at San Francisco, arguably the second-best contest on the slate.
And Monday Night Football between rivals Philadelphia and Dallas will bring some clarity to the muddied NFC East, especially if Buffalo beats Washington on Sunday.
With a Little Help From Our (AFC) Friends
Now although Houston couldn't pick off Carolina on Thursday, this could be a week where AFC home teams give a nice little assist to the Rams playoff odds. (It would be welcomed, especially after the Chargers let the Cowboys off the hook.)
In addition to Buffalo potentially setting 1-1 Washington back, the same could be said of New England hosting 1-1 New Orleans and Cleveland welcoming 1-1 Chicago, with Justin Fields making his first start.
Favorable outcomes would thin the herd a bit.
And this is just downright greedy, but could winless Jacksonville hand 2-0 Arizona a loss before the Cardinals come to Inglewood?
Stafford as Advertised
The sample size is too small to be evidential, but after two weeks, the early returns on the partnership between Matthew Stafford and the Rams are extremely encouraging.
He ranks top five in the NFL in most core quarterback metrics, and top 10 in nearly all of them.
On the Coach McVay Show – have you subscribed on YouTube, Apple, and-or Spotify yet? – the Rams play-caller has made this point twice in as many weeks about his new QB1.
"His ability to process and quickly exhaust progressions is what really stands out to me after a couple games," McVay noted. "He just sees everything and he's able to communicate right when he gets off (the field). He doesn't need to look at the pictures. He's seen it in live action. He has a reason for why he's doing everything. I can't tell you how nice that is to be able to work through those things in real time."
Touchdown Drive to Survive
The Bucs lead the NFL with 79 points scored and nine touchdowns, two more than any other team.
Taking nothing away from their prowess – Tampa Bay is extraordinarily efficient as well – it is worth noting that six of their scores have come on short fields: drives of 57 yards or fewer.
Two more touchdowns came on defense in last week's fourth quarter versus Atlanta.
That's a great contrast for what the Rams have had to do to get in the end zone seven times on offense. Their shortest touchdown drive of 2021 is 70 yards. And their average march is 76.3.
Impressive, but not sustainable.
This isn't rocket surgery; the Rams need better kick coverage and three and outs on defense to set up shorter fields for their offense.
Bowled Over
As you know, this is the third meeting in as many seasons between Tampa Bay and L.A.
In the prior two, McVay's play-calling has been on point versus former Jets head coach and current Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
While pass-heavy in approach (skewed in part because of the 2019 shootout), the Rams have racked up 67 points and averaged 6.1 yards per play, all despite committing six turnovers along the way.
Centerpiece
Brian Allen has validated the team's decision to elevate him to the starting role, and he's done so against some terrific interior defensive linemen. In fact, Pro Football Focus has Allen as their second-highest-graded center in the league.
But this Sunday's test is a final exam in organic chemistry.
Vita Vea is different. In fact, I'm going to print (read: copy/paste) his full name out of respect: Tevita Tuliʻakiʻono Tuipulotu Mosese Vaʻhae Fehoko Faletau Vea. Watch this from last week.
And Ndamukong Suh knows the drill, too.
If Allen holds his own against those two, the Rams might really be on to something.
What Does the Fox(boro) Say?
The hypothetical I'd love to ask Tom Brady: If you could only win one of Tampa Bay's next two games, would you choose this Sunday versus the Rams or next weekend upon your return to New England?
We'd never, ever get a straight answer, of course. And that's because it's a dumb hypothetical that only I would waste time thinking about.
But it has to be next week at Foxboro, right?
For the record, this is not to imply that Brady or the Bucs are in any way going to get caught "looking ahead."
Two 199th Picks
After all, this is his Jordan Fuller revenge game. The Rams safety has surely been keeping the seven-time Super Bowl champion up at night, with visions of those two interceptions over the middle playing on repeat.
Brady's full attention will be on his first professional game in Los Angeles. And maybe trying to beat Fuller on a deep post for payback.
Cheap Shot
It felt like such a low blow that I debated whether or not it even deserved to be addressed in this space.
In case you missed it, The Ringer remains unconvinced that the Rams are contenders and laid the blame at the feet of the defense, describing the 2021 unit as "a cheap knockoff" of last year's elite force.
How dare they?
Look, we know the shortcomings to date. But how about some perspective, Ringer?
The defense ranks fourth in DVOA (faring better against the pass than the run) and eighth in scoring, despite last week's special teams touchdown by the Colts.
We'll concede that Brady and the Bucs are a level up from the quarterbacks the L.A. defense has faced thus far.
Bend Don't Break
This week on Rams Revealed, in jest, I asked linebacker Troy Reeder if it might be better to just have opposing offenses start their drives in the red zone. You know, just cut to the chase?
"The important thing is, the way teams have gotten down there is very correctible," Reeder said, coming off his first career interception – one of three red zone takeaways (including on downs) for the Rams in two games.
"I think we felt throughout all of camp that we were trying to build off of what we did last year. We didn't want to start backwards. We have a lot of the same guys back. But we know that this team may have a different identity."
Just Going to Leave This Here
Last thing.
Aaron Donald has zero sacks of Tom Brady in three career meetings, including the postseason.
Donald potentially getting the Rams sack record against Brady at SoFi sets up nicely, doesn't it?
Our NFL experts predict, pick and preview the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Los Angeles Rams game with kickoff time, TV channel and spread.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Los Angeles Rams
If you can't beat 'em … join 'em. That's what the Los Angeles Rams were thinking this offseason as they looked to match the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: winning a Super Bowl scheduled for their home stadium this February.
Like the Bucs, the Rams went out and got a big-name veteran quarterback in Matthew Stafford. Is he Tom Brady? Of course not, making Stafford's task to win over critics even trickier in Hollywood.
But is Brady really a fair comparison for anyone? Stafford threw for more than 4,000 yards in seven straight seasons, from 2011-17, and ranks 16th all-time in NFL history with 45,708. At 33, he's already thrown for 287 touchdowns and has durability, missing just eight games over the past decade.
But that's where Brady, well above him on the NFL passing chart (second), can also turn around and showcase his Super Bowl rings. Stafford has none of those, let alone a playoff win, compiling an ugly 76-90-1 record as a starter while making the Pro Bowl only once with the Detroit Lions. He was suffering through yet another rebuild when the Rams swooped in and took a gamble, hoping a change of scenery plus a better supporting cast would get Stafford ready to go toe-to-toe with the best in the NFC.
Well, here we are already in Week 3, the defending Super Bowl champions providing an early test for the Rams. Both teams enter the weekend 2-0 and have a markedly easier schedule after this game for much of the next two months. Could we be witnessing an early tiebreaker in the battle for home-field advantage and that coveted first-round bye?
Stafford's sure ready to put on a show, and Brady? He's just happy to face a guy who's been a Super Bowl blessing (four meetings between the two QBs … four Vince Lombardi trophies won by Brady later that season).
It'll be a while before we know if Brady can go five-for-five. But can Stafford and the Rams scare this Tampa Bay juggernaut in the short term?
Tampa Bay (2-0) at Los Angeles (2-0)
Kickoff: Sunday, Sept. 26 at 4:25 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Spread: Buccaneers -1
Three Things To Watch
1. Stafford vs. Brady. Who will be better?
So far, Stafford has lived up to the billing out west. He leads the NFL with 15.4 yards per completion through two weeks while, his passer rating (127.0) ranks second in the NFC to Seattle's Russell Wilson.
Perhaps most importantly, a guy who got sacked a whopping 38 times last season, seventh-most in the NFL, has been dropped just twice in two games. It's allowed this pocket passer the time to make throws, on pace for a career-best 69.6 percent completion rate.
Brady's been just as strong, leading the league with nine touchdown passes already through two games. Think about that a second; at 44, he's on pace for roughly 75 touchdowns by the time the regular season ends in early January.
How about that? But where Brady has excelled, giving him the edge is bringing so many different weapons into the fold. Four different pass catchers have scored already: Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski. At any given moment, it seems like Brady can scan the field only to find someone wide open. And that's with a run game not scaring anyone: 67.0 rushing yards per game, tied for 30th in the NFL.
Stafford hasn't been quite as prolific, leaning heavily on Cooper Kupp (271 of his 599 passing yards). Other options, like last year's second-round pick Van Jefferson, need to break through the Bucs secondary to keep the Rams' offense going punch-for-punch with them. Matt Ryan just showed it's possible; he had the Falcons within 28-25 against Tampa Bay's defense last week before it all fell apart.
2. Which defense can force more turnovers?
How did the Bucs put the Falcons away? On the strength of two Ryan pick-sixes, scoring the game's final 20 points to win 48-25. Every one of their four interceptions this season has turned into a touchdown, either on the Bucs' ensuing offensive possession or by the defensive player who picks the ball off.
The Rams have also produced four takeaways, a defensive total that is tied for fourth in the NFL. Last year's All-Pros, defensive lineman Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, have each made key plays in their first two wins. In particular, Ramsey's pick of young Jacob Eason kept the Colts' backup quarterback off balance in the fourth quarter, helping preserve a 27-24 squeaker last week.
Can this team force turnovers on Brady? For all the deserved praise he's getting, the defending Super Bowl champion has quietly thrown five interceptions in his last four games. For a guy who has gone entire seasons without throwing that many, it provides an opening for a Rams defense that prides itself on putting pressure on the quarterback. Six sacks through two games are tied for fourth in the NFC, two of them from an unexpected strength: third-year linebacker Justin Hollins.
Add in the weak Bucs run game and the Rams can focus hard on some blitzes built to get to Brady. If the Falcons broke through last week (three sacks), so can they.
3. Slowing Tampa Bay's hot start
Check out the Bucs' last four games, all victories including the tail end of their Super Bowl run.
NFC Championship Game: Up 21-10 on Green Bay at halftime
Super Bowl LV: Up 21-6 on Kansas City at halftime
Week 1: Up 21-16 on the Cowboys at halftime
Week 2: Up 21-10 on the Falcons at halftime
Talk about consistency, right? The offense produces 20-plus points, putting pressure on their opponent while taking the lead into halftime and forcing a comeback. Sure, in the fourth quarter against Dallas, Tom Brady still needed to engineer a game-winning drive down the stretch. But starting off strong provides a cushion where the Bucs are always in the game.
Playing at home, can the Rams take the luster off by outperforming the Bucs early? They've led at half in the first two games of the Stafford era. Putting this type of team on their heels early is a must for them to have any chance.
Final Analysis
Let's not forget, the Bucs made their home Super Bowl by winning on the road every game of the NFC playoffs. They're no stranger to hostile environments or new teams that think they have their season figured out with a new quarterback.
Stafford, head coach Sean McVay and the Rams are ready to play. (Remember, McVay lost to Brady in his only Super Bowl appearance). Expect a high-scoring affair. But Brady looks like a man on a mission this season to the point it's hard to bet against him.
Prediction: Buccaneers 37, Rams 34
