Rams lose to Bucs, Tom Brady in last minute

TAMPA, Fla. — Rams star defensive lineman Aaron Donald did his part by making Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady uncomfortable. He sacked him and even recorded a batted pass on the future Hall of Famer. As a whole, the defense did its part by keeping Brady out of the end zone for nearly four quarters.

But trading field goals with Brady has been a dangerous game for more than two decades, evident by his seven Super Bowl titles and 100,000 career passing yards.

When the Rams’ offense asked the defense to bail it out one too many times in the final minutes of a one-score game Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, Brady found tight end Cade Otton for a game-winning touchdown pass with nine seconds left in regulation.

The Rams lost 16-13 and are staring at a 3-5 record with a broken offense heading into Week 10.

The Rams got risky by calling a run play on third-and-goal from the 19 so they could settle for a 35-yard field goal and a 13-6 advantage with nine seconds left in the third quarter. The dangerous decision kept it a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter against Brady. It was during that quarter that Brady became the first player in NFL history to reach 100,000 career passing yards (regular season and postseason).

The Rams played running back Cam Akers in his first week back with the team after they spent the past few weeks trying to trade Akers because of his differences with Rams coach Sean McVay.

Akers’ return didn’t help the Rams’ ground game much in the first half, and the offense recorded only 15 rushing yards heading into the locker room.

But Darrell Henderson provided positive ground yards after back-to-back runs of 11 and 23 yards to put the Rams at the Buccaneers’ 11-yard line. The Rams, however, called three consecutive pass plays and settled for a 26-yard field goal from kicker Matt Gay to extend their lead 10-6 with 9:14 to go in the third quarter.related_articles location=”left” show_article_date=”false” article_type=”automatic-primary-section”]

After a sluggish opening quarter, quarterback Matthew Stafford stood in the pocket amid pressure and found an open Cooper Kupp up the seam for a 69-yard catch-and-run touchdown to give the Rams a 7-3 advantage with 12:57 in the second quarter.

The Rams were scoreless and had eight rushing yards in the first quarter, with Henderson getting the start and Akers entering the game on the third drive.

Brady and the Buccaneers had a productive opening drive, but they were stopped at the Rams’ 2-yard line and settled for a 20-yard field goal and 3-0 lead with 7:16 left in the first quarter. The Rams’ defense used the momentum to force the Buccaneers into three consecutive punts with only 29 combined yards.

Rams middle linebacker Bobby Wagner also contributed on special teams after he jumped over the line of scrimmage to block a 52-yard field-goal attempt from kicker Ryan Succop. But the Rams’ offense followed with a three-and-out drive that ended with Stafford recovering his own fumble.

The Rams entered halftime with a 7-6 lead thanks to Kupp’s lengthy touchdown score, which gave the offense 60 of its 104 total yards in the first half. Succop added a 38-yard field goal for the Buccaneers with 24 seconds left before halftime.

More to come.