The Los Angeles Rams squandered a late lead and fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16-13, in Week 9 to drop to 3-5 on the season.
The Rams offense struggled for most of the game and mustered just 206 total yards. Matthew Stafford completed only 13 of 27 passes and said afterward that he was frustrated with his lack of efficiency.
While the Rams offense underwhelmed, the same can’t be said for the defense. Even without recording an interception or fumble, the unit still impressed by forcing six punts and two turnovers on downs.
Bobby Wagner also shined by blocking Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop’s 52-yard field goal attempt with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter. Wagner revealed after the game that he enjoyed the opportunity to block the kick, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“It’s fun, man, when they give me an opportunity to jump over,” Wagner said Thursday. “They actually called it out before the play, so I thought they was going to do something about it. But hey, their fault.”
Wagner leaped over the center and stuck the perfect landing to block Succop’s kick, which was a priority as he did not want to fall and embarrass himself in front of his teammates:
“Honestly, I’m just thinking, ‘Make sure I make it over,’ because if I fall on my face, I won’t hear the end of it, especially (with) these guys,” Wagner said. “That was really what I was thinking – if I don’t make this jump, then you guys are going to hear me get stuff for a long time.”
Wagner’s blocked field goal was his first since 2018, when he swatted then-Minnesota Vikings kicker Dan Bailey’s 47-yard attempt. He also had one two years earlier against the Arizona Cardinals on a 39-yard field goal attempt by kicker Chandler Catanzaro.
In addition to his blocked field goal, Wagner accumulated a season-high 13 tackles against the Buccaneers. For the season, he has registered 64 tackles, two sacks and two passes defended in eight games.
