It wasn’t pretty at times, but when it comes down to it, a win is a win. The Los Angeles Rams managed to squeeze out a 27-24 win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here’s what we learned from this week’s edition of Monday Night Football at Raymond James Stadium:

Rams Squeeze By Buccaneers

With three minutes left in regulation, the Rams offense faced a 3rd&1 at Tampa Bay’s 43 yard line. Jared Goff rolled to his right and fired a dart to Cooper Kupp for 19 yards and a fresh set of downs. Three plays later (totaling two yards), newly signed kicker Matt Gay drilled what turned out to be the go-ahead field goal, giving Los Angeles a three point lead with over two minutes to play. Now you may be asking yourself, “Why would you give Tom Brady that much time to work with?” Well, your concern is valid. Facing a second second down, Tom Brady chucked a deep pass that was intercepted by Rams defender Jordan Fuller. Three L.A. runs and a Johnny Hekker punt later, the Rams walked away with the win.

Rams Defense Covers Up Offense’s Deficiencies

The Rams won despite only totaling 37 rushing yards, with Malcolm Brown “leading” the team with 20 yards on three totes. This led to 51 pass attempts by Goff, who finished with a trio of TD passes and 376 yards through the air. But he also threw two ugly interceptions, which led to 10 Tampa Bay points. Luckily, the defense stepped up in a big way, limiting the Brady Brunch to only 251 total yards of offense (216 passing, 42 rushing). The Rams also forced two interceptions off Brady, both coming courtesy of Fuller. Come playoff time, having a great defense trumps great offense (ask the 2015 Broncos) and is the difference between advancing or going home. 

Woods and Kupp Come Up Big for L.A.

Despite the rocky performance of the L.A. offense, receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupps made history for their team Monday night. This was the first time in franchise history where two players hauled in 10 plus catches and over 100 receiving yards(12/130 and 11/145,  respectively). This is especially surprising when you think back to The Greatest Show on Turf offenses from ‘99-‘01.

The win puts the Rams at 7-3 on the season, leapfrogging the Seahawks for first place in the NFC West and second place in the NFC. Next week, they travel back home to SoFi Stadium to face the San Francisco 49ers. They’ll be looking to atone for their last matchup with their neighbors from Northern California. Kickoff will take place at 1:05 pm PST.