Rams edge Bucs 27-24
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’ defence pressured Tom Brady all night and sealed the win with its second interception of the sixtime Super Bowl champion.
Cooper Kupp had 11 receptions for 145 yards and Woods finished with 10 catches for 130 yards to help the Rams climb back into first place in the NFC West. Both caught passes on the eightplay, 53-yard drive Goff led to move Los Angeles into position for Gay’s gamewinning 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.
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.
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.