Series History: Rams-Buccaneers

Dating back to 1977, when the team’s first met, the Rams lead the all-time series 11-8 in regular season play.  That lead extends to 13-8 if you factor in the two playoff games in 1979 and 1999 [both of which were NFC Championship games].

The introductory meeting between the teams [1977] was a lopsided affair, as the hometown Rams took the 31-0 victory at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.  QB Pat Haden lead the Rams passing attack, going 10 for 23, with 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Lawrence McCutcheon headed the Rams’ ground game, rushing for 79 yards on 31 carries, and finishing the game with one receiving TD.  The Rams’ defense tallied four sacks [TB had none], and the offense chalked up 21 first downs [to TB’s 9].

One year later, the game was much more competitive. Tampa Bay, however, lost QB Doug Williams that game [broken jaw] on a Jack Youngblood blitz.

The Rams and Bucs squared off twice in 1979.  The Buccaneers got their first series win a Week 4 matchup on September 23, 1979.  Youngblood again put his stamp on the game, nabbing a pick-six in the first quarter, putting the Rams up 6-0.  The Buccaneers would then go on to score 21 unanswered points [all of which came in the 2nd quarter].

The Rams would right the ship later that season though, as the two teams played their first ever playoff game against one another.  On January 6, 1980 - in a game called by the late Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier - Rams’ kicker Frank Corral was the star of the show, kicking all three of the Rams’ field goals, and leading the team to a 9-0 victory in the NFC Championship game.  Vince Ferragamo got the start in place of an injured Pat Haden.  Jack Youngblood played the game with a hairline fracture in his left leg.

In 1984, the Rams began their longest win streak against the Bucs, winning six games over a nine year span.

A few things to note from that Week 13 game, which took place on November 25, 1984.  Hall-of-Fame running back Eric Dickerson had been held to 67 yards through the first three quarters.  With his team down 26-17 entering the final frame, Dickerson put the team on his back, rushing for 124 yards in the final quarter.  At the conclusion of that game, Dickerson was only 372 yards shy of O.J. Simpson’s single-season rushing record [2,003 yds].  He’d finish the season with 2,105 yards...a record that still stands today.

That game, sadly, was Jack Youngblood’s [next to] last in a Rams uniform.  In his 200th game in the NFL, the Rams’ LB suffered an injury to his sciatic nerve, ending his game and ultimately his career.  He’d play in limited action in the following game, but would never play in an NFL game thereafter.

The Rams and Buccaneers would again meet in the NFC Championship game in 1999.  Pat Summerall and John Madden called the game played in the Trans World Dome [now Edward Jones Dome].  The "Greatest Show on Turf" had been held in check by one of the best defenses in the NFL.  Heading into the fourth quarter, the Rams trailed 6-5.  A late touchdown pass [Kurt Warner to Ricky Proehl] ultimately sealed it for the Rams, who were on their way to playing in - and winning - Super Bowl XXXIV.


The game didn’t finish without it’s controversy though.  The Buccaneers were mounting a comeback in the final minutes of that NFC Championship game, before a call on the field was overturned...on this Bert Emanuel catch [video via NFL.com].

Emanuel successfully caught the ball, maintaing two hands and possession on the catch.  The rules - at the time - were that no part of the ball could touch the ground throughout the entirety of the catch though process.  That ruled changed the following year, which would’ve ruled Emanuel’s catch a completed pass in 2000.  Following the overturned call, the Buccaneers failed to convert on 3rd and 4th downs, and the Rams kneeled the ball to effectively run out the clock and end the game.

Present day, the Rams head to Tampa Bay this Sunday in an effort to shake off the drubbing they sustained from the Vikings in Week 1, and win their third consecutive game against the Buccaneers.  Interestingly enough, the Rams - over the past two seasons - have won both games against the Bucs by a score of 28-13.

We’ll see if the Rams can make a little more history on Sunday, extending the regular season series to 12-8 against the Bucs.