Few Super Bowl-winning teams come back the next season with the same swagger to run it back for another championship.
In the case of the Super Bowl 55-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this team appears to have not lost a step since February after two weeks of exceptional play, making for an incredible matchup against the Los Angeles Rams as both undefeated teams (2-0) face off at SoFi Stadium in Week 3.
Stopping the Tom Brady-led offense may be priority No. 1 on paper for the Rams, but head coach Sean McVay and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris are going to have to exploit other matchups that this Bucs team is offering, giving the Rams a favorable chance to hand TB and the Bucs their first loss of the season.
Getting To Know The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay and general manager Jason Licht did what any Super Bowl winner should do on Day 1 of the offseason: Find a way to bring back the team that won the championship. It was a strategy crucial to Tampa Bay’s success because this squad, either by Brady’s influence or some true finessing by Licht, is stacked. From edge rushers Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul, to Antonio Brown as a WR3, to Lavonte David and Devin White‘s linebacking stranglehold over the middle of the field … this team is relentless with the talent it’ll throw at opposing teams.
While fans had their doubts as to whether veteran wide receiver Antonio Brown would return to the team after a one-year stint, courtesy of BFF Tom Brady, Licht, and the front office, found a way to get him back. Fortunately for the Rams, Brown will be missing Sunday’s game due to a COVID-related sidelining.
Brown’s Week 1 debut, going five receptions for 121 yards, proved to be a valuable contribution as Chris Godwin and Mike Evans struggled with drops against the Cowboys. Next man up.
Tampa Bay’s offense is among the most formidable units in the NFL, but a Week 1 performance against the Cowboys’ Swiss cheese defense and a 48-point shellacking against Dean Pees’ Atlanta crew won’t be near the level of Raheem Morris’ adept defense — picking up where Brandon Staley left off.Tampa Bay’s defense is no joke itself but will be without Jason Pierre-Paul on its defensive line up front — which may be the winning factor in the Rams’ favor this Sunday.
Pierre-Paul’s history as a disruptor of the QB pocket won’t be on display at SoFi, meaning that Matthew Stafford and the humming Rams receiving corps can expose the one unit that serves as the Achilles’ heel for Tampa: The secondary.
Losing top cornerback and former second-round pick Sean Murphy-Bunting to an elbow injury has been costly for the anemic unit. With Robert Woods, Van Jefferson, sleeper DeSean Jackson, and Cooper Kupp‘s early-season elite play ready to challenge a young group at corner for the Bucs — who even considered bringing in Richard Sherman to bolster its coverage — fans on both sides can expect an offensive showdown on Sunday.
One of the matchups that will surely come down to which offense has the ball last, a bold prediction has the Rams winning this game. Which is what I’ll do here: Los Angeles Rams 38, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31.
Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Matthew Stafford And Tight End Tyler Higbee. Photo Credit: Brevin Townsell | LA Rams