NFL Game Of The Week: Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford got his first playoff win Monday night against Arizona, and will now have to face Tom Brady, a man with many playoff wins, and the Tampa Bay Bucs Sunday in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are continuing to deal with injury issues, but had no trouble getting past Philadelphia on Sunday to advance. 

Stafford completed 13-of-17 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions in Los Angeles's 34-11 win over the Cardinals. The Rams quarterback finished the regular season with 4,886 passing yards and 41 touchdowns with 17 interceptions. Only Tom Brady threw more touchdowns, but nobody else finished with more interceptions. Stafford's 17 picks ended the season tied for last with Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence. 

Stafford may be turnover prone, but he remains surrounded by enough receiving talent to make up for it. Cooper Kupp finished the regular season with 145 catches for 1,947 YDS and 15 touchdowns, leading the team and the league in touchdown catches and receiving yards. Van Jefferson (51 REC, 843 YDS, 7 TDS) and Tyler Higbee (64 REC, 606 YDS, 5 TDS) also thrived in Sean McVay's system this season. Newly acquired Odell Beckham Jr. caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight games with the team and appears to have found his place within the offense. Beckham Jr. had four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown in Monday night's win. The Rams are averaging 270.9 yards per game through the air (9th). 

Darrell Henderson Jr. (149 ATT, 688 YDS, 5 TDS) and Sony Michel (221 ATT, 903 YDS, 4 TDS) have split the load at running back for a Rams rush that has been relatively pedestrian on the ground, averaging 101.3 yards per game (24th). Michel's 121 yard game against Jacksonville in Week 12 was the first of only two 100-yard rushing performances by a Rams back this season. The Rams are clearly more of a pass-oriented offense, but both Henderson and Michel are making the most of their opportunities, with each averaging over four yards per carry. 

Safety Jordan Fuller finished the regular season with a team-leading 113 tackles (63 solo) while the always dangerous Aaron Donald leads the team with 12.5 sacks. The Rams defense turned in a stellar performance on Monday, intercepting Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray twice while holding the Cardinals to just 61 total yards on the ground. The Rams are fifth in the league in rushing yards allowed (100.8), 21st in passing yards allowed (235.1) and 9th in points allowed (21.3). They'll have their hands full against a Tampa Bay offense that is still one of the best in the league even with their mounting injuries. 

Tom Brady completed another stellar season in 2021, completing 485 of 719 passes (67.5%) for a league-leading 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns, also tops in the NFL. The Bucs averaged 307.6 yards per game through the air, best in the league. Chris Godwin (98 REC, 1,103 YDS, 5 TDS) leads Tampa Bay in catches and receiving yards, but was lost for the season with a torn ACL in a Week 14 loss to New Orleans. Mike Evans (83 REC, 1,152 YDS, 15 TDS) and Rob Gronkowski (60 REC, 833 YDS, 7 TDS) remain two powerful weapons in Brady's arsenal. Evans had nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's win, and Gronkowski added another score. Tight End Cameron Brate (33 REC, 273 YDS 4 TDS) is the only healthy receiver other than Gronkowski and Evans with more than three touchdowns catches this season. 

Leonard Fournette (180 ATT, 812 YDS, 8 TDS) leads a Bucs ground game that struggled to a 98.4 yards per game average during the regular season, putting them at 28th in the league. Founette suffered a hamstring injury in the Bucs' 9-0 los to New Orleans on 12/19 and has not played since. The Bucs chose not to activated "Playoff Lenny" from injured reserve for the matchup against Philadelphia out of caution. He's listed as questionable for Sunday. Ronald Jones (101 ATT, 428 YDS, 4 TDS) is also out with an ankle injury, so Ke'Shawn Vaughn (53 ATT, 233 YDS, 3 TDS) Giovanni Bernard (21 ATT, 102 YDS, 1 TD) and newly signed Le'Veon Bell (8 ATT, 18 YDS) are all options if Fournette isn't ready by game time. Vaughn had 17 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown in the Bucs' win on Sunday, while Bernard had 13 carries for 44 yards and a score. 

Linebacker Devin White leads the Bucs defense with 128 tackles (87 solo), while Shaq Barrett is their sack leader with 10. The Bucs finished the regular season with 47 sacks, good for sixth. Tampa Bay has not been great against the pass, giving up 239.2 yards per game through the air (22nd), but their 17 interceptions are tied for fifth most in the league. The Bucs are tough against the run, giving up an average of 92.7 yard per game (3rd). They held Philadelphia, which finished the regular season as the NFL's best rushing team to 95 total yards on the ground Sunday. 

Prediction

Los Angeles won big in Arizona, but Tampa Bay has too many offensive weapons for the Rams' defense to deliver a similar performance. Both teams have defenses that struggle to stop the pass, so this could be a shootout, but the Bucs will prevail. 

Tampa Bay 33-Los Angeles 28