Rams head to Tampa Bay for second road game of the season
The Los Angeles Rams are riding high after their home win against their division rival, the Seattle Seahawks. They now travel to Tampa Bay this Sunday where they will play their second road game of the season. The Rams will have to play better than they did during their first road game, in which they lost 28-0, if they want to leave Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers’ home with a victory.
The Rams have not scored a touchdown since 1994. Well, at least not as the Los Angeles Rams. They’ve played two regular season games now and have yet to reach the end zone. They were able to escape with a win against the Seahawks thanks to some dominant defense and their kicker, Greg Zuerlein, but in their first game the defense wasn’t as dominant. As a result, the Rams lost that first game to the San Francisco 49ers by 28 points.
This weekend Los Angeles’ defense will have to show up and play on the road the same way they did in their home opener. Winston leads a Buccaneers’ offense that has plenty of weapons. One thing that can really cause a problem for the Rams’ defense is the height of Tampa Bay’s receivers. Bucs’ wide receivers, Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans, are both 6’5” deep threats that can go up and catch the ball with the best of them. The Rams’ defense is ranked ninth in passing yards allowed, giving up around 204 yards a game through the air. If they can hold Winston to that total, they should be able to limit the number of points the Buccaneers put up.
On the offensive side of the ball, Los Angeles will need running back Todd Gurley to get going after rushing for a total of only 98 yards in their first two games. A lot more has been expected from the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and he has not been able to come through. He is not the one to blame, though. Quarterback Case Keenum has not made the throws or plays necessary for defenses to respect his passing, so opponents have been able to focus on Los Angeles’ star running back. Keenum will have to step his game up in Tampa if the Rams hope to have success using Gurley out of the backfield.
It’ll be a matchup between two teams looking to get their second win of the season when the Rams battle the Buccaneers Sunday afternoon. The game is scheduled to start at 1:05 pm pacific time in Raymond James stadium, home of the Buccaneers. The Rams will look to get their offense going and score the first touchdown for Los Angeles since 1994. They will have to if they plan on beating the Bucs’ high octane offense, led by Famous Jameis.