Is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Los Angeles Rams matchup an NFC Championship Game preview in Week 3? It’s certainly possible. If nothing else, it’s the game of the week — Tom Brady and the defending champions vs. Matthew Stafford and the No. 1 contenders. The top two teams in PFN’s NFL Power Rankings meet with perhaps postseason home-field advantage on the line — we’ll make a prediction on this early-season slugfest.
Buccaneers vs. Rams preview for Week 3
What are the marquee matchups to watch for in this highly anticipated contest?
Matchups featuring Buccaneers offense vs. Rams defense
Talk about strength vs. strength. The Buccaneers head west with the NFL’s top-ranked scoring offense (39.5 per game) and tangle with a Rams defense that ranked first in points allowed last year.
Tom Brady vs. Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris
Brady is off to another MVP start two decades into his career, leading the NFL in touchdowns (9) and ranking in the top 10 in passer rating (113.3) and QBR (64.9). And the craziest part? He still has room for improvement. His completion percentage (65.1%) and on-target rate (71.1%) are nothing special.
Morris knows the best way to get to Brady is with pressure up the middle (more on this in a bit). But knowing what needs to be done and actually executing are two totally different beasts. Brady roasted a Morris-led defense for 789 yards and 6 touchdowns in two late-season meetings in 2020.
Buccaneers Wide Receivers vs. Rams Defensive Backs
With Antonio Brown likely out after testing positive for COVID-19, the Rams have an advantage here — even with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans available. Evans has been pretty pedestrian through two weeks, with a 53.3% catch rate and no reception longer than 26 yards. He and Brady have yet to get in sync.
This is a tough week to get things worked out. Jalen Ramsey is an elite talent, and the four-time Pro Bowler has allowed a 34.5 passer rating this season. His running mate, Darious Williams, is no slouch either, allowing a microscopic 4.5 yards per target.
Buccaneers Offensive Line vs. Rams Defensive Line
Aaron Donald has already generated 1 sack, 6 pressures, and 2 tackles for loss in two games. That’s good. But Donald can — and will — do better. Plus, the Rams have been surprisingly generous on the ground, ranking 24th in yards allowed per rush (4.7).
We’re excited to see what Ali Marpet can do vs. Donald. The seventh-year left guard has yet to allow a sack this year. Donald needs to be disruptive for the Rams to keep Brady in check.
This year, the Buccaneers rank sixth in sack percentage (3.4%), and Brady has been hit just 8 times on 89 dropbacks. Rams edge defender Justin Hollins has 2 sacks in 2021, one shy of his career-high.
Matchups featuring Rams offense vs. Buccaneers defense
Sean McVay has a quarterback he trusts — and it shows. The Rams are scoring a touchdown more per game than they did a year ago and rank in the top 10 in yards per play (6.9), yards per pass (10.4), and sack percentage (3.6%).
Matthew Stafford vs. Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles
Stafford’s stats have traditionally been excellent, but they haven’t ever really translated to team success. In Week 2, we saw the best of both worlds. He went 19/30 for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 10-yard strike to Cooper Kupp in the fourth quarter.
But he hasn’t had recent success against Bowles-led defenses. Stafford left the Lions-Bucs game last December with a first-drive ankle injury and threw 4 interceptions in a Week 1 blowout loss to the Jets in 2018. Bowles was New York’s head coach in that game.
Rams Wide Receivers vs. Buccaneers Defensive Backs
Cooper Kupp is incredible and deserves more credit. He is off to a ridiculous start this season and has done much of the heavy lifting himself. On the year, he ranks third in receiving yards (271), 14th in average yards of separation (4.1), tied-sixth in targets (21, teammate Robert Woods has 13), tied-18th in catch percentage (76.2%, minimum of 10 targets), fourth in YAC/reception (9.4), and fourth in average YAC above expectations (4).
Expect the good times to continue rolling against a Buccaneers secondary without Sean Murphy-Bunting, who’s out for weeks with an elbow injury.
Rams Offensive Line vs. Buccaneers Defensive Line
The Rams threw to score and ran to win in Week 2, churning out 31 yards on their game-winning field goal drive late against the Colts. Darrell Henderson and Sony Michel split carries evenly throughout, but Michel was the closer. Henderson is dealing with a rib injury that bears monitoring.
Credit Los Angeles’ offensive line for creating lanes, but the sledding will be far tougher against Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh, and a Tampa Bay defensive front that’s top five in run defense (57.5 yards per game and 3.0 yards per carry).
Prediction for Bucs vs. Rams
Rams (+1.5) 30, Buccaneers 27
Too much offense from Stafford and LA in this instant classic that will have us eagerly awaiting a late-January rematch.