The Los Angeles Rams won their sixth straight game following a 34-7 demolition of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Sunday Night Football.” Los Angeles now sits alone atop the NFC standings due in large part to the win, and the Cowboys beating the Eagles in Dallas. So, um, thank you, Cowboys. Yuck, I feel icky saying that.
Before I wash my filthy mouth out with soap, it’s time to get into the good, the bad and the ugly from the Rams’ sweet victory.
The Good
Team got off to yet another fast start
The poor Bucs never had a chance in the first half.
After
having some slow starts to games early in the season, the Rams have absolutely been piling it on lately. In their last five games, L.A. has jumped out to a double-digit lead, including 21-0 before Tampa Bay got on the scoreboard.
The Rams outscored the Bucs 31-7 in the first half, outgaining their opponent by 115 yards (224-109) and 2.9 yards per play. Baker Mayfield was even limited to 29 passing yards and was picked off twice. It was the type of performance that proved that Los Angeles might just be the team to beat in the NFC.
There were rightfully some concerns over how Sean McVay’s squad would perform with three key players having recently landed on IR. However, the Rams ensured that nothing was going to get in their way on Sunday. Home-field advantage is well within their sights, assuming they maintain their red-out play.
Matthew Stafford’s MVP campaign still chugging along
Matthew Stafford completed his first twelve passes of the game. The streak ended on a pass intended for Davis Allen, but it didn’t matter as the veteran quarterback turned in a dominant half.
Overall, Stafford completed 25-of-35 passes for 273 yards and 3 touchdown passes, finishing with a 122.7 passer rating. Two of those scores went to Davante Adams, who now has 9 touchdown receptions in his last five games, and 12 total on the year. His and Stafford’s chemistry is incredible. Adams was also present for three of Aaron Rodgers’ four MVP trophies, becoming the primary target in the latter two. Matthew Stafford could be the next signal caller he helps win MVP.
To illustrate just how surgical Stafford has been this season, he set an NFL record mark against TB.
Even crazier to think that he hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 3 in Philadelphia.
McVay believes his QB will play for “about 10 more years.” Given Stafford’s play, none of us would be surprised in the slightest. The Rams might want to think long and hard about drafting a quarterback high in next year’s draft, because Staff is making that decision more difficult with each passing week.
Defense showed out — what else is new?
Aaron Donald’s presence worked wonders for the Rams this weekend. It should be AD bobblehead week every week, since the defense put on a clinic in front of the future Hall of Famer.
Jared Verse and Kobie Turner had 2.0 sacks each, as the Bucs were held to a season low for points and yards, with just 193. Regardless of who was under center for Tampa, the defensive front made them wish they had stayed in Florida for the weekend.
Baker Mayfield played a rough half of football, completing 47% of his passes with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, the second coming on an ill-fated Hail Mary attempt right before the break. Mayfield was viewed as an MVP candidate early in the year, but no longer, as TB has collapsed.
Backup Teddy Bridgewater, who came in for the injured Mayfield, didn’t fare much better. The Rams should consider signing Chris Shula to a lifetime deal, since he’s likely to be the next member to be poached from McVay’s coaching staff in the offseason.
Harrison Mevis drills his first career field goal!
Thicker than a snicker, it’s the Rams’ new kicker. He drilled his first field goal through the uprights, and now the fans will no longer be uptights.
My lyrical genius aside, Harrison Mevis got the first field goal attempt of his career. It came after he made his first 13 PATs. His first field goal came on a 40-yard attempt with 1:02 left in the second quarter.
Following a scoreless third quarter, Mevis got another chance on a field goal attempt, this time on a 52-yarder in the fourth quarter, which he drilled.
We’ve all been wondering how well Mevis would do with kicking in a high-pressure situation. This was a great start, and perhaps he could be the kicker to finally add some stability to the position after the front office let Matt Gay walk.
The Bad
Letting the foot off the gas after halftime
Good thing this game was never in doubt following such a strong first half, given the Rams scored a single field goal after the break.
Second half possessions went as followed:
Turnover on downs
Punt
Field goal
Punt
Punt
Again, the outcome was never in doubt, as L.A. would’ve had to have an epic collapse, a la a repeat of the Eagles game. There was very little to dislike about their primetime performance. Still, it would’ve been nice if the Rams put up another touchdown or two before pulling the starting offense. It’s the other team’s job to stop you, so continue working to make their lives a living hell.
The Ugly
Darious Williams
In a game where defensive stars were aplenty, Darious Williams was not one of them.
Williams surrendered the Buccaneers’ lone score of the night on a 14-yard touchdown from Mayfield to Tez Johnson.
He also surrendered TB’s longest play of the game, which was a 32-yard pass to rookie Emeka Egbuka. It wasn’t the greatest night for him, and those two big plays kept the Rams from having a perfect game on defense. Maybe he’ll have better luck against the Panthers next week.
