TAMPA, FL — After blowing a 24 point lead where the Tampa Bay Bucs led by quarterback Tom Brady found running back Leonard Fournett for the tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard run. However the Rams with :42 seconds in regulation led by quarterback Matthew Stafford launched a 20-yard pass to Cooper Kupp to the Tampa Bay 12 yard line.
After Stafford spiked the ball with six seconds remaining that set up kicker Matt Gay to knock in the 30-yard game winning field goal for the 30-27 win over the defending Super Bowl champs.
After going most of his career winless in playoff games as a member of the Detroit Lions, Stafford just needed a new home, a qualified head coach, a plethora of weapons and a defense that can battle against the best of them in order to secure two playoff victories. Much of the talk before the post season was could Stafford win in the playoffs and after Sunday, he answered that with his huge and smart plays as he snatched the soul out of a man he’s never beaten in his career in Brady.
“In my mind, I live for those kind of moments. I would have loved to have been taking a knee up three scores, but it’s a whole lot more fun when you’ve got to make a play like that to win the game and just steal somebody’s soul,” Stafford said post game.
Although Stafford threw for 366 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, the Rams had four fumbles that allowed the Bucs and Brady into the game in the second half.
“I knew it was going to come down to the end,” Von Miller said. “All the times that I’ve played Tom Brady, it always comes down to the end. No lead that we had was safe. I’m so proud of these guys. Everybody’s name was called and everybody answered the bell.“
Despite losing the lead that included four fumbles, Los Angeles maintained their poise and finished the game strong in all three phases of the game.
“What an interesting game, what an amazing sign of resilience,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “A lot of things didn’t go our way in the second half, but guys kept battling and found a way.”
Sending the Bucs home for the season, many wonder what the future holds for a 44-year Brady and his illustrious career.
“I haven’t put a lot of thought into it,” Brady said to reporters after the game regarding the thoughts of retirement.
The Rams move on to host the NFC Championship at SoFi Stadium thanks to the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. The 49ers have defeated the Rams six consecutive times since 2018 season, and it all comes down to one game on Sunday January 29 at 3:30PM PT.
“It’s a big challenge,” Stafford said. “They’re a team that’s playing really good football at the moment – physical, tough, finding ways to win. [Their] defense is playing outstanding, their offense is playing timely, and, obviously, their special teams made some big plays [yesterday]. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. Hopefully, it’s one of those games where we come out and it’s heavy blue and yellow, and we have a nice live, loud crowd that makes it tough on them.“
