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The Los Angeles Rams move on from the comforts of SoFi Stadium to take a similarly struggling NFC power in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the Rams listed as 2.5-point underdogs according to DraftKings Sportsbook. This game will be a rematch of last season’s Divisional Round that LA won 30-27.
It has been a struggle for the two most recent Super Bowl champions as they currently both have below .500 records. The Rams came out of their bye and played a solid first half against the San Francisco 49ers. LA went into halftime 14-10, with the play of the half going to Cooper Kupp who caught this 16-yard touchdown to put his team up seven:
MATTHEW STAFFORD TO COOPER KUPP. AUTOMATIC. #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/S5GRGEdmtD
— Jack (@MidWestLAFan) October 30, 2022
Unfortunately the wheels fell all the way off as the Rams were held scoreless in the second half. The Niners went on a 21-0 run thanks to major draft acquisition Christian McCaffrey who totaled three touchdowns on the day. McCaffrey showed LA what they could’ve had if their trade proposal was a tad bit better as he was the 49ers offense on Sunday.
Christian McCaffrey is the first player since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005 with a TD pass, TD rush, and TD reception in the same game.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 30, 2022
He's the first player with 30 pass yards, 30 rush yards, and 30 receiving yards in a game since HIMSELF in 2018. pic.twitter.com/HLiNp43Yor
As for the Bucs, they were expected to be an NFC-favorite with Tom Brady back in the fold along with several other playmakers. Instead, Tompa Bay lost a 27-22 heartbreaker to the Baltimore Ravens. That loss dropped the Bucs to 1-3 at home, their only such win coming against the Falcons in Week 5. The stinging defeat also gave Brady something he hadn’t previously done in his historic career.
Tom Brady had won each of the previous 7 times he was one game under .500 pic.twitter.com/0iNgTLXfc1
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 28, 2022
For the season, TB12 has thrown nine touchdowns to just one pick for the season with 2,267 yards and a 92.4 passer rating. Those numbers are far from the league-leading 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns he had a year ago when the Bucs finished 13-4. Perhaps Brady is showing signs of decline like most NFL fanbases have been waiting on for years. While that may be so, don’t think I will be counting out the winningest QB in league history.
Who do you trust more this week? Can the Bucs rebound against a playoff hopeful looking to get back on track? Will the Rams hand Tom Brady a fourth-straight loss, putting him three games under .500 for the first time in his career? I’m not betting on that to happen as I see LA struggling to close out a game for the second-consecutive week.
I pick the Rams to go under the spread in a low-scoring affair and the Bucs to eek out a tough win to stop their bleeding for at least one week. Who are you betting on in Week 9? Let’s discuss in the comments!
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