Austin, Gurley lead Rams past Bucs
St Louis fans protest against owner Kroenke’s plans to move the club to LA during 31-23 victory
>> ST LOUIS: Tavon Austin scored twice and Todd Gurley topped 1,000 yards rushing as the Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 on Thursday in what could be the club’s final game in St Louis.
The 31st-ranked offence had an inspired effort in front of another half-filled, but spirited Edward Jones Dome crowd, rolling to a 21-3 halftime lead behind Case Keenum’s two touchdown passes.
Fans chanted “Keep Our Rams! Keep Our Rams!’’ and carried signs, one of them reading “We Don’t Need Kroenke, We Just Want our Rams.’’
Owner Stan Kroenke, who wants to move the Rams (6-8) to Los Angeles, attended the finale but kept a low profile.
The team announced 51,295 tickets had been distributed for the 66,000-capacity dome.
Up 31-13, the Rams became conservative and Jameis Winston took advantage with two touchdown passes in a big fourth quarter. He had just 125 yards passing the first three quarters, but finished with a careerbest 363, his first 300-yard effort, for Tampa Bay (6-8).
The half-time deficit was the Buccaneers’ largest since they were down 35-7 against the Titans in their opening 42-14 loss.
Mike Evans had nine receptions for 157 yards and topped 1,000 yards.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins’ 9-yard scoring catch cut the deficit to eight with 1:34 to play, but the Rams’ Bryce Hager recovered the onside kick.
Benny Cunningham had a 102yard kickoff return to the Tampa Bay 3 in the fourth quarter and a 44-yard return on the opening kick-off capped by Austin’s 17-yard scoring reception.
Gurley needed 25 yards to become the first Rams rookie to rush for 1,000 yards since Jerome Bettis and didn’t get it by much, gaining 48 yards on 21 carries.
Austin is the first player since Gale Sayers in 1965 to score at least four rushing touchdowns, five receiving touchdowns and one touchdown on a punt return in a season. He leads the Rams with 10 total TDs.
Several stars from the 1999 Super Bowl championship team attended the finale, including Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, plus Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk from the NFL Network. At half-time, Warner took off his sports jacket and tossed a pass to Bruce, who made the catch as he was running along the home team’s
sideline and jogged into the end zone.
BRADY TOPS FAN VOTE
Meanwhile, New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady topped fan voting announced on Thursday for the NFL’s Pro Bowl exhibition, narrowly edging Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
Brady received 701,554 votes by fans while Newton received 701,086.
The other top vote-getters among quarterbacks were the Cincinnati Bengals’ Andy Dalton, the Arizona Cardinals’ Carson Palmer and the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers.
Final selections for the Pro Bowl are determined by a combination of votes from fans, coaches and players, with the results to be announced on Tuesday.
The Pro Bowl will be played in Honolulu on Jan 31.
Plenty of those fans who voted for Brady and Newton will no doubt be hoping they won’t actually be in it, but will instead be preparing for a Super Bowl 50 showdown on Feb 7 in San Francisco.
Eight Panthers players finished top the voting at their positions: fullback Mike Tolbert, guard Tara Turner, centre Ryan Kalil, outside linebacker Thomas Davis, inside linebacker Luke Kuechly, cornerback Josh Norman, free safety Kurt Coleman and special teams player Joe Webb.
New England had three players voted No.1 at their positions: Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
Devonta Freeman of the Atlanta Falcons edged the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson for the top spot among running backs. The New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown finished one and two among wide receivers.