The Los Angeles Rams dropped their second straight game after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16-13, on the road in Week 9 of the 2022-23 NFL season. At 3-5, the Rams are currently in third place in the NFC West. Here are the four players who are most to blame for the Rams' Week 9 loss vs. the Buccaneers.
The Rams look like they are fully overcome by the dreaded Super Bowl hangover. They have lost in a number of ways this season, and this most recent one is among the worst. Following a humiliating defeat to the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams were stunned by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
Remember that the Rams pretty much had this game wrapped up. However, with less than a minute remaining in the game, Brady led the Bucs to a game-winning touchdown drive. They scored the game-winner with just 9 seconds remaining. Needless to say, this was rather unfortunate for the Rams who just keep on finding ways to self-destruct.
Let us look at the four players who are most to blame for the Rams' Week 9 loss vs. the Buccaneers.
"We got a lot of season left, a lot of division opponents left. So it's time to right this."
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 7, 2022
4. CB Derion Kendrick
Derion Kendrick has earned a starting cornerback spot alongside Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill for the Rams. At various times this season, he has shown that he can hold his own at times. However, in this particular game, he allowed a third-down catch to Julio Jones in the first quarter and was flagged for defensive pass interference in the second quarter. That allowed the Buccaneers to score. Worse, he committed a pass interference penalty with 13 seconds remaining, leading to Tampa Bay scoring the game-winning touchdown.
3. LG Bobby Evans
It is absolutely clear that the Rams need to make a change at guard, and it is also clear that Bobby Evans is not the solution. He just appeared woefully outmatched on the left side as Vita Vea kept going past him. Evans either allowed pressure and collapsed the pocket, or he flat-out gave up a sack far too many times. Keep in mind that he gave up two horrible sacks to Vea. Now, while Vea is indeed a great player, Evans hardly got a touch on him at all. In total, Evans actually allowed Matthew Stafford to be sacked three times. That is just not good enough.
2. WR Van Jefferson
The first target to Rams WR Van Jefferson was a deep shot across the center of the field. he was wide open on the play, but he lost the ball as he went to the ground.
This dropped exemplified Jefferson's performance on the day. He was targeted five times but failed to successfully catch any of Stafford's passes. At the very least, he was more active after going untargeted a week ago.
It's clear that the 26-year-old had a forgettable game, and Rams fans hope that this kind of performance would be more of the exception than the rule.
1. QB Matthew Stafford
Rams QB Matthew Stafford completed 13-of-27 passes for 165 yards and a score in their loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday. He finished with a passer rating of 80.0.
Both offenses struggled on the day, but Stafford had one of his worst games of the season. He set a new season low in passing yards and completed less than half of his passes for the first time as a Ram. His offensive line also failed against any type of pass rush. As such, the veteran quarterback was sacked four times. This was the fourth time in the previous six games that he was more than once. Looking ahead, Stafford will surely want to earn ample time in the pocket against the Cardinals in Week 10.
Keep in mind that while Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady threw 58 passes and willed his team to victory, the Rams took a very conservative approach to offense. The Bucs understood that if they were going to build any sort of offensive production, it would come by running the offense through their quarterback. The Rams, on the other hand, seemed afraid to fully give their quarterback the reins. Well, on the bright side, at least Stafford didn’t turn the ball over for the third time this season and the second game in a row.
Having said that, we expect a star QB to elevate his surrounding cast and rise above a bad situation. It's also a fact that Stafford has played better in the past despite being on Detroit Lions teams with less talent. The veteran just missed a number of throws today, with the worst one being the skip to Skowronek in the end zone. The long and short of it is that Stafford just needs to get better.
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