RECAP: The Bucs Finally Right the Ship, Win against the Los Angeles Rams

The offense put aside its struggles for a late score to pull out a victory.

It wasn't pretty, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally got back into the win column after a comeback effort saw Tom Brady lead the offense down the field with just 54 seconds left to pull off the 16-13 win against the Los Angeles Rams. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams entered this week 9 contest trying to turn their seasons around. Unfortunately the first half of the game played out similarly to how one would suspect. The first half didn't provide very much excitement as there was only one big play - made on a 69-yard TD pass from Rams' quarterback Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp.

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Other than the aforementioned explosive play, both offenses struggled to move the ball and convert meaningful drives. The Bucs are just 4/10 on third down, and the Rams weren't much better only converting three of their eight third downs.

Early in the game, Mike Evans went down on the field after being sandwiched between two Rams players. A scary sight initially was soon put to rest as Evans jogged off the field under his own power and looked to get his ribs checked before returning to the game.

The Buccaneers' defense once again was the stronghold. They consistently forced Matt Stafford into uncomfortable throwing positions and limited the Rams' running game to a total of just 15-yards. With the defense playing up to expectations, the offense did the exact opposite. They struggled once again with being able to consistently move the ball and the play-calling was suspect. The Bucs struggled mightily on third down and too many times continued to run the ball on first and second down, pushing Brady and the offense into 3rd and mediums/longs. 'The Krewe' did not take kindly to what the offense was doing as the boo birds came out in full force. The MVP so far this season has been K Ryan Succop and he once again was in the first half as he nailed a 20-yarder and 38-yarder. The Rams took a 7-6 lead into the break.

The second half turned out to be much of the same as the first half. Both offenses struggled to get the ball into the endzone. The Tampa Bay defense and special teams were the highlights of the night. Kicker Ryan Succop had another great outing in the 2nd half as he was able to drill a 50-yard field goal - making him 3/4 on the night. Punter Jake Camarda had a strong performance as well with punts of 68 and 74-yards. The 74-yard punt tied a Buccaneers team record for longest punt.

The defense did its best to keep the team in the game as they consistently got pressure on Matthew Stafford, forcing 4 sacks on the night; 2 to Vita Vea. Even with how well the defense has played they were unable to turn the Rams over and are still searching for their first turnover since week four.

The Bucs will finally be able to celebrate a long-awaited win as they move to 4-5 on the season and inch closer to making a case to win the NFC South. On a night that was going to be celebratory anyways with Brady becoming the first player in NFL history to pass for 100,000 yards became just that much sweeter as Brady drove the ball down the field with 54 seconds left and found rookie tight end Cade Otton for a TD to put the Bucs ahead by 3 with just 9 seconds remaining in the game. 

There is still more to work on for this Buccaneers team, but the win tonight should boost morale in the locker room.

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