The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are defending Super Bowl champions no more. That's after they got eliminated from the playoffs by the Los Angeles Rams during a 30-27 home loss Sunday night. It was an exhilarating game, to say the least, one that had a heart-pounding finish. A blitz call by Bruce Arians in the penultimate play of the contest backfired, but don't think for a second that the Buccaneers head coach is regretting that decision.

Via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times:

Bruce Arians on the blitz call on the final offensive play by the Rams. “It's who you are. No regrets…everybody got the call. I was wrong about it, we got the call. You got to cover better, but when we do that, we've got to get to the quarterback.”

The Rams won on a field goal by kicker Matt Gay, thanks to a pair of perfect long throws by quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Cooper Kupp. The last reception by Kupp went for 44 yards, as he took advantage of the wide-open field in front of him, thanks to the Buccaneers' blitz call.

The Buccanneers lived and died with the blitz. They were among the best defensive teams this season and ranked No. 1 in blitz rate (40.8%), but it also proved to be a big reason why Tampa Bay is now in the offseason.