The Los Angeles Rams (8-2) will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) at SoFi Stadium on Sunday Night Football. Los Angeles is riding a 5-game win streak while Tampa Bay has lost three of its last four. The Bucs are not at 100% with their roster, with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin nursing injuries (though the latter has a chance at playing). The Rams have proven their roster is as complete as they come with depth at each position to compliment their playmaking stars: Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Davante
Adams, and Jared Verse. How do they stack up against the Bucs? Here’s a breakdown of the two current division leaders…
QB Breakdown: Matt Stafford continues to ball out. Stafford’s numbers are as follows: 2557 yards (6th), 27 TDs (1st), 112.8 QB Rating (2nd), 68.7 QBR (6th), and 56.7 EPA (6th). Stafford continues to keep the ball out of harms way with only 2 interceptions. Week 11 was arguably Stafford’s worst game of the season and even then he was: 15/28, 130 yards, 2 touchdowns. If anything Stafford was just slightly off with his accuracy but nothing that was considered a turnover-worthy play.
Baker Mayfield has been a revelation for the Buccaneers since he joined the team in 2023. His Adjusted Yards gained per Pass Attempt this year has dropped over the last four weeks compared to his first six weeks of action. Mayfield is having his best season as a Buc and will earn himself another extension with the franchise after this year.
RB Breakdown: One thing that I did not understand with the Rams play calling and in-game strategy against Seattle was the lack of usage for Kyren Williams. Williams was clearly the hot hand for Los Angeles, especially after the first quarter. Instead Williams and Corum saw a 60-40 split of the carries. In my opinion, that should have been a 80-20 split. I like that Williams is being kept fresh but it nearly cost LA.
The Bucs will continue to turn to Rachaad White out of the back field with Bucky Irving still being unavailable due to foot and shoulder injuries. Neither running back has been explosive for the Bucs offense but Irving has been the more versatile of the two. White will nonetheless get the nod and work to move the chains for the Bucs rushing attack.
WR Breakdown: Puka Nacua paced the offense in Week 11 against the Seahawks while Davante Adams only factored himself in the red zone with a 1-yard touchdown catch. With Los Angeles relying on 13 personnel more often, Nacua and Adams will see more time on the sideline. It may not be the worst thing to keep both players fresh against a well-graded Tampa Bay secondary; forcing TB into more of a base defense. Either way, the Rams wide receivers who rank, according to PFF, 2nd (Nacua: 93.3) and 10th (Adams: 81.4) will be asked to produce against a secondary that contains the best-graded corner Jamel Dean (90.5), Zyon McCollum (70.9), Tykee Smith (79.3), and Antoine Winfield Jr (74.5).
Tampa Bay received positive news this week when Chris Godwin was announced as likely to play Sunday night. Godwin has only played in 2 of 10 games this year. He has 6 receptions for 52 yards. He will bring a much needed presence to a decimated wide receiver room. Mike Evans has been on injured reserve with a broken collarbone and is still expected to miss a few more weeks. That has left rookie Emeka Egbuka to shoulder the workload. Egbuka has arguably been the best rookie receiver this year but has cooled off in the last few weeks with his teammates missing time; allowing teams to focus on removing him from the passing attack.
TE Breakdown: Los Angeles will be without Tyler Higbee for at least the next four weeks. The veteran tight end was placed on injured reserve this week with an ankle injury. If the Rams decide to remain in 13 personnel, they would be relying on the trio of Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson, and Terrance Ferguson. Only Parkinson was targeted last week in the Week 11 win against Seattle.
Tampa Bay’s number one tight end is Cade Otton. Otton is second on the team in targets (53), receptions (37), and receiving yards (381). No other tight end on the Bucs roster has been targeted this year.
OL Breakdown: Another injury for the Rams from this past week was that Rob Havenstein would miss more time with ankle and knee injuries. Havenstein was also placed on the IR, guaranteeing he will miss the next four games. Even though the Rams will be without their longest tenured player, Havenstein has actually been the weakest link along the offensive line. His PFF grade this year is 56.8, significantly lower than the other starters. Even his backup Warren McClendon has outperformed him with a 70.0 grade in his three replacement starts. The Rams are going to have a really good idea over the next month of whether or not McClendon is the future RT for the franchise and if he is the better “play” as the team pursues the No. 1 seed in the NFC and aims to win its second Lombardi trophy in five seasons.
The starting offensive line for TB in Week 12 will be: Tristan Wirfs, Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton, Dan Feeney, and Luke Goedeke. Both tackles are stalwarts for the TB OL, while Bredeson and Feeney leave the interior vulnerable.
DL Breakdown: The Rams still have not yielded a ton of box score production from Kobie Turner or Braden Fiske. The two disruptors have only generated 2.5 sacks between two of them. Meanwhile Poona Ford continues to dismantle opposing offense’s run game plans. Tyler Davis has aided in that department putting up a 72.6 defensive grade off of 281 snaps.
Vita Vea will be priority number one for the Rams offensive line. The 6’4” 340 interior defender has made an 8 year career of collapsing the pocket with his overwhelming strength and size. It would nice surprise me if McVay elects to double team Vea with Shelton and one of the guards (Avila or Dotson) in order to prevent Shelton from ending up in Stafford’s lap post-snap.
EDGE Breakdown: The Rams have been held without a sack for the last three weeks. A large part of that has been offense’s getting the ball out quickly to avoid pressure and negative plays. But as Sean McVay has said in response to the lack of sacks: “stats are for losers”. Jared Verse and Byron Young have continued to cause chaos in the backfield despite the 3-week sack hiatus.
YaYa Diaby and Logan Nelson will be charged with rushing off the edge to get to Stafford. Diaby leads the team in sacks with 4 but neither has been a game wrecker off the edge.
LB Breakdown: It was pointed out after the game but Nate Landman had ANOTHER forced fumble. The Rams did not recover the punchout but Landman has continued to make his presence felt week after week. Omar Speights has quietly emerged as a really strong compliment to Landman. The Rams have a strong young trio at the linebacker position with Landman, Speights, and Dolac.
Lavonte David, the 35 year old veteran, continues to be the signal caller for Todd Bowles’s defense. SirVocea Dennis is his running mate in the middle.
DB Breakdown: Aubrey Pleasant’s secondary had quiet the party last week; nabbing four interceptions against Sam Darnold. That was without their star player: Quentin Lake who went down early in the game due to a dislocated elbow. The secondary will look different in Week 12 as Witherspoon and Lake both being on IR leave the Rams with little wiggle room. Either Josh Wallace or mid-season trade acquisition Roger McCreary will be tasked with filling in for Quentin Lake. Forbes, Durant, and Williams will remain in their outside corner spots.
Todd Bowles’s secondary is the best part of his defense in 2025. As mentioned, from corner to safety, there are four players with a grade of 70.0 or higher. HOWEVER, as of 3:50pm EST, Jamel Dean has been ruled out for the Bucs because of a hip injury. This is a significant blow for the Bucs who will be without their star corner to slow down Puka Nacua and/or Davante Adams.
ST Breakdown: The Rams will continue to rely on Harrison Mevis for their place kicking duties. The kicker is 9/9 on XPs this year. On the punting side, Ethan Evans has quietly worked his way towards the top half of the league. Evans is averaging 47.0 yards per punt this year.
Chase McLaughlin will handle kicking duties for Tampa Bay. He has been automatic from 50+ this year, nailing all 8 attempts from long distance.
Coaching Breakdown: Sean McVay is 2-2 all time against Todd Bowles. Those 2 losses came in 2019 and 2022 (the year we all wish to forget). Both of those were years that LAR did not make the playoffs. It’s hard to envision the Rams missing the playoffs in 2025. McVay has the more dominant team in this one and should have a strong game plan against a Jamel Dean-less defense.
