The Los Angeles Rams were able to maintain their hot start coming out of the bye by after making another statement in the 27-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football in Week 11.
As great as the Rams’ defense has been throughout the 2020 NFL season, the Bucs posed a difficult matchup with their star-studded offense led by quarterback Tom Brady. Not to mention, another long trip to the East Coast only served to make it more challenging for L.A.
Fortunately, this talented, young secondary led by Jalen Ramsey proved to be more than up to the task of containing Tampa Bay’s trio of wideouts in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown. With Ramsey shadowing Evans for most of the game, the onus fell on Darious Williams, Jordan Fuller and Troy Hill to once again step up as they limited Brady to just 216 yards passing while picking him off twice to seal the deal.
Fuller, who is looking like the steal of the 2020 Draft after being taken in the sixth round, had a career night. He intercepted Brady twice, including the game-winner with less than two minutes left.
The Rams did not have much luck running the ball with their committee of options in the backfield. Of course, this was to be expected considering the Bucs were already giving up the fewest rushing yards per game (76.6) and carry (3.3) this season.
Although the offense struggled to move the ball on the ground, quarterback Jared Goff enjoyed a productive day from his tandem of wideouts in Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. Woods and Kupp combined for a whopping 23 receptions, 275 yards, and a touchdown against a Bucs secondary that was top-10 in passer rating (89.8), yards per game (223.7), and tied for first in interceptions as a team heading into Week 11.
Kupp finished with 11 receptions for a game-high 145 yards, while Woods had 12 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. They became the first Rams teammates ever to have 10 or more receptions each in the same game.
Rams rookies Van Jefferson and Cam Akers also both had memorable nights, catching the first touchdowns of their respective careers.
With the win, L.A. has successfully made their way to the top of the NFC West thanks to their clutch win over the Seattle Seahawks last week. They will have a chance to extend their lead in the division when they host the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12.
