Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes and Cobie Durant turned a bobbled pass into a 50-yard pick six as the Los Angeles Rams easily dispatched the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium. The Rams had a 21-0 lead four minutes into the second quarter and never let the Buccaneers back into the game. Baker Mayfield didn't play in the second half due to a left shoulder injury and returned to the sideline with that arm in a sling.
The loss was the third straight for the Buccaneers and the fourth in their last five outings after a 5-1 start. The resulting 6-5 record dropped Tampa Bay into a tie for first in the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers, who will play at San Francisco on Monday night. The Rams won their sixth straight game and improved to 9-2, the best record in the NFC after the Philadelphia Eagles lost in overtime in Dallas on Sunday afternoon.
"We've got everything ahead of us," said Head Coach Todd Bowles after the disappointing loss. "We're pissed off, we've got a bad taste in our mouth the last two weeks and we should be. We come home for a three-game homestand. Everything we need to do is right in front of us but we've got a lot of work to do."
The loss was the first by the Buccaneers by 31 or more points since another trip to the West Coast, a 35-7 defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers on December 11, 2022. The Bucs allowed 31 or more points in the first half for the first time since a 42-28 loss to the Carolina Panthers on November 4, 2018. Tampa Bay's offense generated just 193 yards of offense, to 333 for the Rams. The Bucs did continue to run the ball well, gaining 123 yards on the ground behind 42 from Sean Tucker and 38 from Rachaad White.
"I don't know if it's a silver lining; it's something that we should be doing," said Bowles of the rushing attack. "That's our bell cow, but we've got to throw it better as well and we've got to play defense and special teams as well."
Mayfield completed nine of 19 passes and also ran for four times for 19 yards in his one half of play. He took a hard shot to his left shoulder on a second-quarter run that converted a third down and briefly was taken into the blue medical tent on the sideline. He didn't miss a snap and was back on the field for the Buccaneers' next possession. However, on the final play of the first half, he was left clutching his shoulder again after falling to the turf while throwing a Hail Mary pass.
"Right now, he has a shoulder sprain," said Bowles of Mayfield's status. "He'll get an MRI tomorrow. He hurt it earlier, he said he was fine and went back into the game, then aggravated it on the last play.
With Mayfield under constant pressure, the Buccaneers had difficulty getting any downfield gains in the passing attack. He was sacked twice in the first half and threw multiple interceptions for the first time in 2025, though neither turnover was a true quarterback mistake. On the Bucs' second possession, Mayfield hit TE Cade Otton in the right flat and he bobbled the ball, which eventually ended up in the hands of CB Cobie Durant, who returned it 50 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. The other pick was on the aforementioned Hail Mary that ended the first half.
"They just executed," said Bowles of the Rams' dominant outing. "They executed from the play-calling to the quarterback to the receivers to the offensive line to the defensive front to the secondary. They out-executed us and they out-played us."
The Bucs lifted Mayfield to start the second half in favor of Teddy Bridgewater, who completed eight of 15 passes for 62 yards. It marked the first time since Mayfield joined the Buccaneers in 2023 that he missed significant game time due to injury.
"He knows what to do," said Bowles of the veteran backup. "Obviously, we've got to protect him a lot better. It's not the ideal situation to be in, when they've got a big lead and they've got their ears pinned back every play. I thought he performed well under pressure."
If Mayfield's shoulder injury keeps him out for any more time going forward, Bowles said the Buccaneers have confidence in Bridgewater, who has 65 career regular-season starts and a 33-32 record as a starter.
"Well Teddy will play, obviously, if he's out for some time," said Bowles. "We'll bring up Connor [Bazelak] behind him and we'll go from there. We're confident in what Teddy can do with a full week of practice taking every snap and every play. We think we'll be fine."
Chris Godwin returned for the Buccaneers after a five-game absence due to a leg injury, but he caught just two passes for nine yards and played very sparingly in the second half with the game out of hand. The Bucs continued to rely on their two rookie wideouts, with Emeka Egbuka leading the team with 32 yards on three catches and Tez Johnson scoring his fifth touchdown of the season on a 14-yard pass from Mayfield in the second quarter.
OLB Yaya Diaby had the only sack of Stafford by the Bucs' defense, which generated just three quarterback hits. LB Lavonte David and S Antoine Winfield Jr. shared the team lead with eight tackles each.
The Bucs won the opening coin toss and elected to go on offense first, with Owen Wright returning the kickoff to the Bucs' 28. A White run over left tackle for six yards a short tunnel screen to Egbuka left the Bucs in a third-and-one, and Tucker came in to power it up the middle for a first down at the 40. A swing pass to Tez Johnson (officially a run) two plays later put the Bucs in third-and-one again and Tucker provided a replay of his previous carry for a first down at the Rams' 44. Mayfield tried a deep pass to Egbuka on a fly down the right side but the pass hung up just long enough to give CB Cobie Durant a chance to knock it way. After a short White run, Mayfield scrambled right on third-and-nine and tried to throw on the run to Godwin, but it was off target and a Riley Dixon punt was fair caught at the Rams' 20.
The Rams got a yard on a Kyren Williams run to the right, then went into a hurry-up, with Davis stopping Williams for a gain of just two on a short pass. Stafford converted the long third down with a pass through traffic to Adams for a gain of 13. Two plays later, Nacua sprung wide open on a crossing route and Stafford hit him for a gain of 31 to the Bucs' 26. Diaby put the Rams into a long third down with a 10-yard sack and a hustle stop on a short pass to Nacua. However, Stafford converted the third-and-18 with a 19-yard sideline strike to Nacua down to the Bucs' 18. A play-action rollout to TE Colby Parkinson got it down to the one, and Stafford's fade to Adams got the ball into the end zone for the game's first score.
Los Angeles 7, Tampa Bay 0 – 4:32 remaining in the first quarter
The Bucs' second drive began at their 35 after a touchback, and two Tucker runs got a total of six yards. Godwin made an impressive falling catch of a low pass to move the chains. However, two plays later, Otton bobbled an on-target pass multiple times and Durant eventually wrested it away before sprinting 50 yards down the sideline for the pick-six.
Los Angeles 14, Tampa Bay 0 – 1:42 left in the first quarter
After another touchback, Mayfield had his next two passes broken up to make it third-and-10. The pocket collapsed quickly on Mayfield on third down and he was dropped by Kobie Turner for a loss of nine, bringing out Dixon again. His punt was fair caught at the Ram's 28.
Two Blake Corum runs picked up 11 yards to bring the first quarter to an end. Two short passes put the Rams in a third-and-three, but Stafford had time to survey the field and eventually found WR Konata Mumpfield on a dig for 11 yards to the Bucs' 43. Stafford then threw a deep out to Adams for 14 more. After completing his first 12 passes of the game, Stafford had the next one broken up by S Tykee Smith on a short out to TE Davis Allen. On the next snap, Parkinson took a short pass out to the right and picked his way through traffic for a first down at the Bucs' 15. Corum burst straight up the middle for 10 more to make it first-and-goal at the five. Two incompletions made it third-and-goal but Stafford side-armed a dart down the middle to Parkinson for a five-yard score.
Los Angeles 21, Tampa Bay 0 – 10:46 left in the second quarter
A third touchback led to another start at the 35, with Tucker running for four yards to get it going. An attempted play-action rollout was sniffed out by the Rams and Mayfield threw incomplete with a defender immediately on him. On third down, Mayfield saw the field open in front of him and scrambled up the middle before sliding down for a gain of nine at the Bucs' 48. Three snaps later, on third-and-six, Mayfield chose to run again and made it past the sticks while absorbing two hard hits. Tucker bounced his next carry out to the left and fought through an arm tackle to gain nine yards. Rachaad hit the hole hard on second-and-one and found an opening to gain 12 yards up the middle to the Rams' 20. Johnson took an end-around for six, and Mayfield then zipped a pass through traffic to Johnson in the back of the end zone for the 14-yard score.
Los Angeles 21, Tampa Bay 7 – 5:03 remaining in the second quarter
The Bucs' first kickoff of the game was downed in the end zone for a touchback, putting the Rams at their 35. Stafford swung a short sideline pass out to WR Jordan Whittington but CB Jacob Parrish rushed up to knock him down after a gain of three. Stafford rendered that unimportant by immediately hitting shots over the middle to Nacua for 24 and Mumpfield for 14. On the next snap, Stafford threw a precise lob down the right sideline to Adams, who caught it for a 24-yard touchdown.
Los Angeles 28, Tampa Bay 7 – 3:10 remaining in the second quarter
A mix-up between the Bucs' two deep men on the ensuing kickoff allowed the Rams' coverage unit to drop Wright at the Tampa Bay 20. A run and a catch by Tucker left the Bucs in a third-and-six as the two-minute warning arrived. The first play after the break was a four-yard catch by Godwin, and the Bucs elected to go for it on fourth-and-two at the their own 26. Mayfield tried to hit Shepard on a square-in but Emmanuel Forbes was able to break it up.
That put the Rams at the Bucs' 26 with 1:39 remaining in the half. A Nacua catch for five yards on second down made it third-and-three and another sideline shot to Adams was well-covered and incomplete. Los Angeles brought out K Harrison Mevis to tack on three points with a 40-yard field goal.
Los Angeles 31, Tampa Bay 7 – 1:02 left in the second quarter
After another touchback, Mayfield started the next drive with a seven-yard pass to Shepard but his second-down pass in Otton's direction was incomplete. Mayfield threw quickly to Johnson down the left seam for a gain of four to keep the drive moving. An illegal contact penalty gave the Bucs a first down a yard into Rams territory and stopped the clock with 24 seconds left in the half. A scrambling throw to Godwin was barely tipped away at the last second by Forbes, and the next play was aborted by a botched snap, with Mayfield falling on the ball at the Bucs' 40. The Bucs used a timeout and ran a play on third-and-21, but Mayfield was eventually sacked by Jared Verse for a loss of four. The Rams called a timeout with five seconds left to make the Bucs run one more play. Mayfield scrambled around long enough to kill the clock, but elected to heave up a Hail Mary. The pass was intercepted by Forbes and Mayfield was slow to get up after the play, again holding his left shoulder.
Chase McLaughlin's kickoff to open the second half hit short of the landing zone, resulting in the ball being placed at the Rams' 40. The drive started with a seven-yard run up the middle by Williams, and Nacua's seven-yard catch over the middle produced a first down at the Bucs' 46. Two plays later, a rare drop by a wide-open Adams left the Rams in third-and-six, and a short pass to Nacua was incomplete. The Rams went for it on fourth down and Diaby chased Stafford into a desperation throw-away to avoid a sack, drawing an intentional grounding penalty. That turned the ball over on downs, with the Bucs taking over at their 48.
Bridgewater came out for the Bucs' first drive of the half and handed off to Tucker for a three-yard gain on first down. Another Tucker run got five more, and White came in to move the chains on third-and-two. A run by White on the next play lost two and a pass to Johnson originally ruled a catch was overturned by replay assist. Bridgewater escaped a sack on third down and ran for six yards, making it fourth-and-six and the Bucs went for it. Bridgewater hit Otton over the middle and the tight end was able to elude a defender and get 12 yards for a first down at the 20. A Tucker run and a shot to Shepard in the end zone that fell incomplete made it third-and-nine, and Forbes broke up a pass intended for Egbuka on third down. The Bucs went for it on fourth down but Bridgewater never got a pass off and was eventually dropped for a loss of nine by Turner.
The Rams thus took over at their own 27 at the midway point of the third quarter. Nacua caught a 10-yard pass over the middle and Whittington broke a tackle on the next play to weave for 13 yards. LB Lavonte David trapped Corum in the backfield on the next play for a loss of five, and two plays later, on third-and-eight, the Bucs' defense collapsed the pocket on Stafford and his pass was nowhere near another Ram. L.A.'s first punt of the game was fair caught at the Bucs' eight.
A four-yard Tucker run and a quick pass to Otton left the Bucs in third-and-two, and another catch by Otton was stopped short of the line to gain by one yard. The Bucs brought out the punting unit and Dixon hit it 55 yards to flip the field, with the Rams getting it back at their own 36.
The Rams committed holding on the first play of the next drive, erasing a long downfield catch by Adams. A tight end screen to Allen worked to the tune of 15 yards, and Stafford hit Adams on a scrambling 10-yarder to make it first down at the Bucs' 49. A nine-yard run by Williams brought the third quarter to an end. The fourth quarter opened with another Williams run for three yards and a first down. Three plays later, on third-and-seven, Stafford tried to muscle a throw into TE Terrance Ferguson in traffic but it was well-defended and incomplete. Mevis came on to try a 52-yard field goal and hit it for the game's first points since halftime.
Los Angeles 34, Tampa Bay 7 – 13:35 left in the fourth quarter
After a touchback, Bridgewater looked towards Egbuka on a seam route but the pass was low and incomplete. Another shot to Egbuka down the left sideline was out of reach, and on third-and-10 a blitz got to Bridgewater quickly, but the sack was erased by a defensive holding call downfield. White took a handoff out of the shotgun and found room to run for a gain of 16 to the Rams' 44. A holding call knocked the Bucs back 10 yards into their own half of the field, but two plays later Bridgewater connected with Egbuka on a crossing route for a gain of 32 to the L.A. 20. The Bucs then faced a fourth-and-three at the 13 and Bridgewater was sacked by Verse to kill the drive.
Los Angeles started working on the clock and after three Corum runs left the ball just short of the first-down line, the Rams brought out their punting crew. Ethan Evans shanked the kick and it went just 14 yards before going out of bounds at the Rams' 48. The Bucs couldn't do anything with that field position, with Bridgewater throwing the ball away under duress on second down and Shepard stopped seven yards short of the sticks on a third-down catch. Dixon's punt went into the end zone for a touchback.
The Rams then gave the ball to Williams on six straight plays, resulting in one first down and then a punt right after the two-minute warning. Wright took three handoffs for the Buccaneers to run out the clock.
