The Los Angeles Rams faced one of their toughest tests of the season in Week 11, traveling to take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.
This was the Rams’ fifth and final trip to the East Coast in the regular season, and they ended it on a high note, hanging on to beat the Buccaneers, 27-24, to improve to 7-3 on the season. The Rams are now in first place in the tough NFC West and sit in the No. 2 spot in the NFC postseason picture behind only the New Orleans Saints.
Before I get into my analysis, let me just start by saying that this was an awesome football game. The talent on the field on both sides was absolutely undeniable, with two heavyweights going head-to-head, and the Rams ultimately came out on top in a close one.
Sure, it was closer than it should have been considering the referees called a blatant Brady fumble that the Rams returned for a touchdown in the third quarter an incomplete pass. But the Rams did not let that affect them and continued to remain stout on the defensive end, limiting Brady and the vaunted Buccaneers offense to 10 second-half points.
And as far as the Rams’ offense goes, this was a different game than we have become accustomed to this season. Sean McVay has made sure to establish the run early and often this season, but considering Tampa Bay has the best run defense in the league, that was not the gameplan this week.
Jared Goff threw the ball 51 times. 51! And he completed an incredible 39 of them, which was just one shy of a Monday Night Football record. So that is where I’m going to start my weekly observations, on the offensive side of the ball.
Historic night for Rams receiving duo
I just mentioned how many completions Goff had, and as great as he was, it’s really a testament to his receiving corps, which had a historic night. With the run not working and McVay’s desire to keep Goff upright against a Buccaneers pass rush that’s one of the best in the league, L.A. went to the short pass game early and often, and it worked.
The Rams went 13 plays for 80 yards and a touchdown on their first drive of the game, featuring Cooper Kupp as much as possible. By the end of the drive, Kupp already had five catches for 62 yards, and then Robert Woods caught the touchdown, which was a sign of things to come.
Here are the incredible statlines for Kupp and Woods on the night:
Kupp: 13 targets, 11 receptions, 145 yards
Woods: 15 targets, 12 receptions, 130 yards, 1 touchdown
They became the first Rams teammates to ever have 10 or more receptions in the same game. Yes, you read that correctly. Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt never did that during the ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ days.
Just an awesome night for the Rams receivers, who came up with big plays whenever the team needed it. And it wasn’t just Kupp and Woods. Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee had four catches each. Josh Reynolds finished with three catches of his own.
To be able to win in the NFL, you have to be able to adapt and do it in different ways, and that is exactly what the Rams did on Monday night.
Night of firsts for rookies
As great as all of the guys I just named were, the Rams’ 2020 rookie class really stole the show in what was a night of firsts for them.
It started with wide receiver Van Jefferson, who caught a 7-yard slant from Goff in the second quarter for the first touchdown of his young career. Running back Cam Akers then followed suit when Goff found him for a 4-yard score in the third quarter for his first NFL touchdown as well.
Finally, safety Jordan Fuller may not play offense, but he also found a way to impact the game in a big way. On the Buccaneers’ second drive of the third quarter, Fuller picked off Brady for the first interception of his career. Then for good measure, Fuller also had the game-winning interception of Brady to seal the victory with less than two minutes remaining.
I’ve been talking about the impact this Rams rookie class has made all season, and somehow they incredibly continue to get better and better every week. And oh yeah, NONE of them were first-round picks!
Brandon Staley showed up…again
Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has arguably been the MVP of the organization this season, transforming L.A.’s defense into one of the best in the league seemingly overnight.
This was his toughest test yet though, and he even admitted it going into the week as he said that he has been waiting his whole life for the opportunity to scheme against a Brady-led team. Not only was he facing Brady though, but also the best set of offensive weapons in the league that includes Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones.
Staley passed the test with fly colors, limiting Brady to 216 passing yards on 48 attempts (4.5 yards per attempt), while Fournette and Jones combined to average 2.4 yards per carry on 17 attempts.
The Rams did an excellent job of disguising their coverages, going back and forth between man and zone to confuse Brady, which is why both of his interceptions were literally thrown right to Fuller as if Brady didn’t even know he was there.
A big key for the Rams’ defensive success has been second-half adjustments, and that was again the case in this one with Tampa Bay being limited to 10 second-half points, all of which came due to them having short fields after two Goff interceptions. The lone Buccaneers touchdown was the first that the Rams have allowed in the second half since the Buffalo Bills loss in Week 3.
L.A. is now 32-0 when leading at halftime in the McVay era and are outscoring opponents 116-49 in the second half this season. That is by far the best second-half point differential in the league.
Props to Joseph Noteboom
One of the biggest concerns for the Rams going into Week 11 was the left tackle position after Andrew Whitworth went down with a knee injury last week.
Joseph Noteboom made his first career start at the position, and he honestly was one of the unsung heroes of the game for the Rams. Noteboom did his job all night, and the result was Goff remaining upright. He wasn’t sacked a single time on the night, which is the exact recipe for this Rams offense to be successful.
Kicking was better but not perfect
Finally, here is what I know you have all been waiting for…the Rams’ weekly kicking update.
With Samuel Sloman and Kai Forbath both no longer in the picture after struggling, it was Matt Gay’s turn after winning a kicking competition in practice over Austin MacGinnis.
And while Gay was not perfect, he got the job done. Gay made five of his six kicks on the night (2/3 field goals, 3/3 extra points), including a 40-yarder with 2:36 left that wound up being the game-winner.
That performance is certainly good enough for Gay to keep the job for another week. The Rams have missed at least one kick in nine of their 10 games this season, so it’s definitely something to continue to monitor moving forward.
Up next…
As great as the Rams’ win over the Buccaneers was, they do not have much time to prepare for their next game as welcome the San Francisco 49ers to town this Sunday.
There’s no doubt the Rams will be extra motivated for this division matchup after dropping their first meeting against the 49ers in Santa Clara earlier this season. To make matters better, the 49ers are the most injured team in the league right now and will be without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tight end George Kittle and likely left tackle Trent Williams after he was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list this week.
With how close the NFC West standings are, this really isn’t a game the Rams can afford to lose.
