In a battle of top NFC teams, who will come out on top at SoFi Stadium?
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua stiff-arms Jacob Parrish of the Buccaneers during the first quarter Sunday. Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images
The Rams are back in the end zone after a 5-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Colby Parkinson.
Stafford got a little tricky to cap the 12-play, 72-yard drive, throwing a no-look pass to Parkinson.
Los Angeles is up 21-0 with 10:46 still left to play in the second quarter.
Stafford started 12-of-12 before throwing incomplete for the first time tonight.
After a screen pass to Colby Parkinson, Stafford is 13-of-14 for 135 yards and a touchdown.
The Bucs are averaging only 1.6 yards per play after their latest punt.
The Rams have held Tampa Bay to only one third-down conversion on their last three attempts, and Baker Mayfield has completed only three of eight passes for five yards so far. Including sack yardage, the Bucs have minus-4 yards passing.
Baker Mayfield is sacked for the first time, and the loss of 9 leads to the second punt of the night for Tampa Bay. The Bucs have three first downs and have converted three of their first five third-down opportunities yet are already down 14-0 near the end of the first quarter.
Cade Otton’s bobbled catch is stolen by Rams defensive back Cobie Durant and returned for a touchdown in one of the most improbable pick-sixes you’ll ever see.
Rams 14, Buccaneers 0.
Los Angeles made it look easy on its opening drive.
The Rams drove 80 yards in 10 plays, even overcoming a sack to get on the board first. Two plays after converting a third-and-18, Matthew Stafford found Davante Adams on a goal-line fade for a score.
Los Angeles leads 7-0.
Nacua’s first three catches have gone for 51 yards, including a 20-yard grab on a third-and-18.
The Bucs converted their first two third downs before misfiring on a third-and-9. Los Angeles entered Week 12 fifth in the NFL in opponent third-down conversion percentage.
The Buccaneers went 29 yards over nine plays before punting to the Rams. Baker Mayfield starts 1-of-3 passing.
And the Buccaneers will take over from their own 28. “Sunday Night Football” is underway!
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford sits down with Jason Garrett to talk about his recent string of standout performances.
Jason Garrett sits down with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to talk about his relationship with head coach Sean McVay, his recent hot streak of play, the greats he’s played with in the past and more.
Here’s an incredible statistic from the ace researchers at NBC Sports: After last Sunday’s win against Seattle, Matthew Stafford’s career record is now 116-115-1 — the first time in his 232-game career that his career record has been above .500.
Since Stafford was traded from Detroit to Los Angeles, it’s clear a team can win with him at quarterback. The Rams have a Lombardi Trophy to show for it. But his career’s only now getting above .500 is another reminder of just how rough the first 12 years were in Detroit.
In late October, a Buccaneers-Rams matchup would have been considered a potential preview of the NFC championship game as both teams started the season fast.
Yet while the Rams (8-2) remain off to their best start since 2018, Tampa Bay’s 5-1 start has been tarnished while it has lost three of its last four games. That slide has reduced its lead in the NFC South to a half-game entering Week 14. Four out of Tampa’s last five games are in the division.
Mike Florio and Myles Simmons reflect on what a dominant career Aaron Donald had.
PFF previews the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-vs.-Los Angeles Rams matchup and spotlights the key players to watch for both teams.
Rams wideout Davante Adams last week became the 17th player in NFL history with 1,000 career catches and only the fifth player to have 10 or more touchdown catches in seven or more seasons.
Randy Moss and Jerry Rice (nine seasons) and Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens (eight) are the only other receivers to reach the latter mark, and all four are in the Hall of Fame.
Jac Collinsworth, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison preview the matchup between two of the NFC’s best in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams.
Rams running back Kyren Williams has nine total touchdowns this season to give him 40 in his last 38 games, dating to the start of the 2023 season. In that span, the only player with more scores is Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs, who has 41 touchdowns in 43 games.
Drew Dinsick and Jay Croucher back a desperate Tampa Bay Buccaneers team facing the Rams, who are dealing with some key injuries.
Tampa Bay started the season as a Super Bowl contender by running off a 5-1 record full of comebacks and resilience. But as the season has gone on, its defense doesn’t look like the type of unit built for a long postseason run. Its defense ranks in the league’s bottom third in yards (22nd), passing yards (27th) and points allowed (tied for 21st) per game. No other defense has allowed more touchdowns of 20 yards or longer.
Tampa is also coming off the worst defensive performance since coach Todd Bowles began calling the team’s defense in 2019. Last week, Buffalo lost three possessions to turnovers but scored 44 points on Tampa Bay anyway.
For just the third time this season, the Buccaneers will have wide receiver Chris Godwin on the field tonight.
Although Godwin is officially listed as questionable against the Rams, the Bucs expect him to play on “Sunday Night Football,” according to multiple reports.
Godwin has missed 19 of the Buccaneers’ last 21 games. Last year, he missed the final 11 games with an ankle injury, and after he was finally cleared to play in Week 4 of this year, he played in just two games before he suffered a leg injury that has kept him out until now.
Read the full article here.
Jac Collinsworth, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison take a look at the playoff picture for the NFC, where the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams lead the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Rohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News.
Andrew Greif is a sports reporter for NBC News Digital.