Rams vs. Buccaneers: Goff outguns Brady as LA beats Tampa Bay 27-24
TAMPA BAY, Fla. (KABC) -- Jared Goff threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, and Matt Gay kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining to give the Los Angeles Rams a 27-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
Goff completed 39 of 51 passes, including short scoring throws to Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and Cam Akers. The Rams' defense pressured Tom Brady all night and sealed the win with its second interception of the six-time Super Bowl champion.
Cooper Kupp had 11 receptions for 145 yards and Woods finished with 10 catches for 130 yards to help the Rams (7-3) climb back into first place in the NFC West. Both caught passes on the eight-play, 53-yard drive Goff led to move Los Angeles into position for Gay's game-winning kick.
Brady was 26 of 48 for 216 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams sacked him once and safety Jordan Fuller had both of the team's interceptions. The second one came at 1:49 left in the game to cut off Brady's attempt at a game-winning drive.
Gay, a 2019 Bucs draft pick who was released after a rookie season marked by inconsistency, is the Rams' third kicker in four weeks.
The Bucs (7-4) fell to 1-3 in four prime-time games despite avoiding the type of slow starts that hurt them in losses to the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints and nearly cost them in a narrow victory over the New York Giants.
Coach Bruce Arians adjusted the team's preparation schedule last week, holding two practices at night - one of them at Raymond James Stadium.
Brady answered a 10-play, 80-yard, 7-minute, 55-second drive Goff led to give the Rams a 7-0 lead with a couple of long scoring drives of his own to put the Bucs up 14-7 with a 9-yard TD pass to Mike Evans.
Goff threw first-half TD passes to Woods and Jefferson, then used Woods' 20-yard catch and run to the Tampa Bay 20 to set up Gay's 38-yard field goal as time expired to give Los Angeles a 17-14 lead at halftime.
With the Bucs trailing 24-17, Brady took advantage of Goff throwing his second interception of the night. Chris Godwin's 13-yard TD catch made it 24-all, setting the stage for Goff to move the Rams downfield for the go-ahead field goal.
UP NEXT:
The Rams host NFC West rival San Francisco next Sunday.
STREAK BROKEN:
The game broke Brady's 19-year streak of dominating the Rams.
Brady, through the course of his career with the New England Patriots, had beaten the Rams in five of their previous six meetings, including two Super Bowl victories. The last and only previous time Brady had lost to the Rams was in his first season as a starter in 2001. At the time, the Rams were in St. Louis, Brady had no Super Bowl rings - and Jared Goff was just 7 years old.
