Tag: rams bucs

NFC playoff picture: Where Rams stand after Week 11 win

The Rams moved all the way up to No. 2 in the NFC after beating the Bucs.

Needing a win to keep pace with the Seattle Seahawks and stay ahead of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams took care of business on Monday night to close out Week 11. They beat the Buccaneers 27-24 on the road, improving their record to 7-3 – including 2-0 in the second half of the season so far.

Up next, they’ll get a banged-up 49ers team at home, which is another very winnable game. The Rams’ rise up the NFC standings has been impressive and it may not be done yet. After Week 11, the Rams are currently second in the conference, holding the No. 2 seed in the playoff picture.

Here’s how the NFC looks, with each team’s upcoming opponent in Week 12.

  1. Saints (8-2): at Broncos
  2. Rams (7-3): vs. 49ers
  3. Packers (7-3): vs. Bears
  4. Eagles (3-6-1): vs. Seahawks
  5. Seahawks (7-3): at Eagles
  6. Buccaneers (7-4): vs. Chiefs
  7. Cardinals (6-4): at Patriots

If the Rams beat the 49ers and the Saints somehow lose to the Broncos – which is possible without Drew Brees – Los Angeles would take over the No. 1 spot in the NFC. It would own the tiebreaker over the Saints based on conference record, putting the Rams in the driver’s seat the rest of the way.

There’s a huge advantage that comes with earning the top seed this year, because it’s the only spot that gets a first-round bye. In years past, the top two seeds skipped straight to the divisional round. This year, all but one team in each conference will play on wild-card weekend.

The downside of being the No. 2 seed is that you’ll have likely to face a team like the Bucs, Seahawks or Cardinals in the first round. Whereas the No. 5 seed, currently owned by the Seahawks, would play the 3-6-1 Eagles on wild-card weekend. Granted, that game would be on the road, but it beats having to face a team that’s above .500 in the first round.

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Rams upset Buccaneers, 27-24: Everything we know from the win

The Rams went into Tampa Bay and knocked off the Bucs, winning their seventh game of the year.

There was a lot riding on Monday night’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the winner grabbing hold of the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The Rams were the road underdogs, but they looked every bit like the better team and came away victorious.

They held off the Buccaneers in a nail-biter, moving their record to 7-3 on the year and taking the lead in the NFC West. Here’s everything we know from the victory.

Cooper Kupp’s first half was one of the best on MNF in last 20 years

Kupp’s nine first-half catches are tied for the most on Monday Night Football in the last 20 years.

The Buccaneers have a great secondary with some quality young cornerbacks on the outside, but Tampa Bay had no answer for Cooper Kupp in the first half of Monday’s game. Kupp caught five passes for 62 yards on the first drive alone, and he’d go on to catch four more passes for another 47 yards before halftime.

In total, he had nine catches for 109 yards on 11 targets in the first half, absolutely dominating the Bucs secondary. Jared Goff looked his way early and often, and for good reason. He was breaking tackles, making filthy cuts in the open field and finding soft spots in the zone, consistently getting open for his quarterback.

His nine first-half catches are tied for the most on Monday Night Football in the last 20 years.

Watch: Robert Woods’ 35-yard catch-and-run helps give Rams the lead

Stress level: high.

The Rams executed their final drive of the first half against the Bucs to near-perfection, even if they did only get three points out of it instead of six. The biggest play of the drive came with 19 seconds left when Jared Goff hit Robert Woods on a quick screen to the right from the Rams’ own 45-yard line.

Woods found a lane and thought about going out of bounds – the Rams were out of timeouts – but decided to cut back upfield and make a mad dash for the end zone. He came up short, getting tackled at the 21, but the offense hustled to the line and was able to spike it with 2 seconds left.

Matt Gay came on for a 38-yard attempt and drilled it, giving the Rams a 17-14 lead at the half.

How to watch Rams at Buccaneers: Time, TV channel and streaming info

The Rams are seeking their seventh win of the season on Monday night.

To cap off a wild Week 11 in the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, seeking their seventh win of the season. A win would vault them to second in the NFC, while a loss will drop the Rams to seventh.

With stars on both sides, Rams-Bucs is must-see TV for all football fans. And fortunately, it’ll be broadcast to a wide audience. To find out how to watch Monday night’s showdown, check out our guide below, with streaming and TV info, as well as the latest odds and referee assignment for the game.

Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Monday, Nov. 23 at 8:15 p.m. ET

TV channel: ESPN

Live stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Radio: ESPN LA 710 AM

Location: Raymond James Stadium

Forecast: Clear, 70 degrees, 8 mph winds

Referee: Jerome Boger

Odds: Rams +4.5, O/U 48.5

Rams at Buccaneers: 6 stats and facts to know for Week 11

The Rams hold the all-time edge

For the second time in as many years, the Los Angeles Rams will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the regular season. This Bucs team looks vastly different than the one that beat the Rams last year, though, now that Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown are in the mix.

The Rams aren’t favored over Tampa Bay this time like they were in their Week 4 meeting a year ago. The Buccaneers are also a half-game up in the playoff picture, so this is a big matchup for both teams.

Here are six facts and stats to know as the Rams and Bucs get ready to square off.

Sean McVay reflects on coaching start with Bucs in 2008: ‘I didn’t know anything then’

Sean McVay got started in the NFL as an assistant with the Buccaneers under Jon Gruden.

Sean McVay got his start in the NFL as an assistant wide receivers coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers way back in 2008. He was just 22 at the time, fresh out of college after four years of playing wide receiver for Miami (Ohio) University.

He had no coaching experience, but Jon Gruden gave him a shot. It was by no means a glorious job, barely making any money right out of college. But he relished the opportunity to work for an NFL team gaining any experience he could get his hands on.

It paid off because McVay is now one of the best coaches in the NFL, starting his head coaching career with a 39-18 regular-season record. He’ll try to make it 40-18 on Monday night against the Bucs, taking on the team he started his NFL path with.

McVay reflected on that job in a conversation with Peter Schrager, telling him he didn’t realize how little he knew when he got started.

“What I didn’t realize is I didn’t know anything then,” he said flatly. “I didn’t know what the heck was going on. I was just kind of a fan there, kind of just happy to be there. You go up into the box, you chart some plays. You don’t know what you’re looking at, and you just come away impressed with the opportunity that you do have.”

Looking back now, McVay realizes what a great opportunity it was to learn from a great coach like Gruden, and be around elite talent in Tampa Bay. He may not have known much about coaching, but simply getting exposed to the NFL helped him get started.

“But when I reflect back on the experience, with what Coach Gruden meant to me, the amazing coaches I was around, how the players treated me. One of the things I’ll always remember is the way I was treated by Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard, Antonio [Bryant],” he said. “Those things meant a lot and then to be able to get your feet wet around some of those great coaches was amazing. But I think what you also realize is how little you knew. I remember Coach Gruden asking me to get up on the board and draw a standard run play where it’s a power play where a backside guard pulls and you get some double-teams at the point of attack on the frontside. I didn’t even know a backside guard was pulling on a power play. I’m thinking I’ve got all these answers and I didn’t know anything then.”

McVay knows a lot more now and will try to put it to good use against the 7-3 Buccaneers in the midst of this playoff push.