One week after facing a potent Seahawks offense that’s led by Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the Rams will once again have their hands full against the Buccaneers – who are led by a future Hall of Fame quarterback of their own.
Sean McVay and the Rams will pay the Bucs a visit in Tampa Bay, hoping to slow down what’s been one of the best offenses in the entire league. They rank sixth in scoring, fifth in passing and although they’re only 14th in total yards, this is as explosive and dangerous an offense as the Rams will face.
Whether it’s Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Ronald Jones or even Rob Gronkowski, the Bucs can beat you in several ways – and McVay knows how difficult it’s going to be for L.A.
“It’s a great challenge. We all know what a great and accomplished player Tom is and I think when you put the weapons around him, he does a great job of getting a bunch of different playmakers involved,” McVay said Thursday. “He’s obviously processing things really well. I think he’s throwing the football really well, on all three levels. Really, they have a great running game too. I mean, you look at the success that Jones has had. We all know what a great player (Leonard) Fournette is. So from a personnel standpoint, when you look at their line, all the skill players and then Tom Brady leading the way, it is a nightmare. They’re one of the best offenses for a reason, you see how explosive they are. I think what says as much about them as anything is when you watch the response that they had from a disappointing outing against the Saints a couple of weeks ago. What they did against the Panthers was a very decisive, definitive victory. This is a great team. They’re a great defense. They’re very competitive on special teams and so it’s going to be a great challenge to try to go get our seventh win.”
The Rams need a win to keep pace with the Seahawks in the NFC West after they knocked off the Cardinals on Thursday night. The Bucs are 7-3 and are coming off a dominant 46-23 win over the Panthers in Week 10, looking much better than they did in their 38-3 loss to the Saints one week prior.
There’s almost no doubt the Buccaneers are going to be around for the playoff push later this year, making this a crucial game for Los Angeles in the postseason picture. Tampa Bay could be the team the Rams are competing against for wild-card positioning in December.
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