The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams will be facing each other for the second time this season, but things will be looking very different in their NFL playoffs matchup.
Matthew Stafford threw for four touchdowns, two to star receiver Cooper Kupp, in the Rams’ 34-24 win in Week 3. That game was played at SoFi Stadium, where Tom Brady and the Bucs hope to finish the season playing for their second straight Super Bowl title.
Since that meeting, the Rams have added wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and pass rusher Von Miller. The Bucs, meanwhile, lost receiver Chris Godwin to a knee injury and could be without All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs and running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones. But they will have most of their starting defense back after pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul and linebacker Lavonte David returned in last week’s drubbing of the Philadelphia Eagles.
What’s new: 7 biggest changes for LA Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers since Week 3 showdown
Dream come true: Tom Brady surprises 10-year-old cancer survivor with Super Bowl tickets
Coach faces heat: Bucs HC Bruce Arians fined $50,000 for hitting his own player in the helmet
NFL reporters and analysts weigh in with their picks.
The Buccaneers can’t seem to shake off key injuries to their offense, as they will hope All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs (ankle) can go and running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring) can return, as they already hurting at wide receiver without Chris Godwin (knee).
They still are stuffing the run up front. They can cover better with their linebackers and defensive backs intact. They can also rush the passer and make other big plays on the ball with edge veterans Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul back in their 2021 playoff form.
The Rams have a lot of star power but they remain limited in their depth and versatility around Matthew Stafford and their defensive stars. Tom Brady and the Bucs are showing laser focus, tapping into a lot of what made them Super successful in last year’s run, this time with the bonus of a second “home” game. Brady is less likely to make crucial mistakes and more likely to come through in the clutch.
It won’t be easy for the Bucs. They’ll need to commit to the run in order to set up the pass. Throw too much, and Tom Brady may soon be putting the ball up for grabs in order to avoid getting his 44-year-old body banged around. If the Rams can’t run effectively, quarterback Matthew Stafford may eventually make a fatal mistake.
The Rams turned in the second-best performance of wild card weekend (after the Bills), routing the Cardinals. That’s not to say what the Buccaneers did against the Eagles, jumping out to a 31-0 lead, wasn’t an awesome performance. The Bucs are looking like a team that wants to go back to the Super Bowl.
Tom Brady has played nearly an entire season’s worth of conference championship games (14). Even in its recently diminished state, Tampa Bay’s roster is a lot more talented than many of those former Brady-led squads. The Buccaneers have handled the weight of being defending champs with aplomb and knocked out the Eagles quickly last week. They just might have the wrong injuries and the wrong opponent at the wrong time.
Right tackle Tristan Wirfs’ and center Ryan Jensen’s respective ankle injuries are the great unknowns here. Both are missing practice. And while Jensen finished the Eagles game, he wasn’t himself.
As a result, Brady did not have much time to operate against Philadelphia, taking four sacks — twice the number of his three previous games combined — despite getting rid of the ball more quickly than he did all season.
Aaron Donald is a force multiplier. When Donald, Von Miller, Leonard Floyd, A’Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines are all on the field together — most downs these days — they can suffocate a passing game. Brady can live with losses at receiver; he’s still got Gronk and Mike Evans, after all. But it will be hard to live without time in the pocket again, and I don’t think he’ll have it come Sunday.
The Rams have knocked off the Buccaneers in each of the last two seasons, so Tampa Bay has to be careful here. In the Week 3 matchup, Tom Brady (41 of 55 432 yards, TD) and Matthew Stafford (27 of 38, 343 yards, 4 TDs) let it fly in the Rams’ 34-24 victory.
It’s the playoffs. The running game will be more of a factor this time, and Tampa Bay will monitor Tristan Wirfs’ injury throughout the week. They will need him against a pass rush led by Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd and Von Miller.
Brady will find a way, and Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s expanded role in the wild-card win is not an accident. Mike Evans and Rob Gronkowski will catch TDs, but it’s the threat of a running game that protects Brady here.
Both of these teams won blowouts last week, but this should be a hard-fought game. I trust Tom Brady in the fourth quarter of a close playoff game more than I trust Matthew Stafford.
This is a rematch from a game early in the season won by the Rams. But this is a Rams team playing on a short week after playing Monday night, and now it is forced to go across the country. That’s a challenge. The Bucs have some offensive line issues that could ultimately decide this game. Three of their linemen could miss this week’s game, which would not be a good thing against the Rams front and Aaron Donald. Matt Stafford played well against the Cardinals and the Tampa Bay defense has some issues on the back end, although it is healthier now back there. The Rams will want to run the ball to key their passing game, so it’s imperative on the inside three to block Vita Vea and that front. I think they can. This Rams team is loaded with stars, and I think this is when they will show up. Upset special. Rams win it.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bucs vs. Rams predictions: NFL experts pick NFC divisional playoff game