Jared Goff threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, and Matt Gay kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining to give the Los Angeles Rams a 27-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
Goff completed 39 of 51 passes, including short scoring throws to Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and Cam Akers. The Rams' defense pressured Tom Brady all night and sealed the win with its second interception of the six-time Super Bowl champion.
Cooper Kupp had 11 receptions for 145 yards and Woods finished with 10 catches for 130 yards to help the Rams climb back into first place in the NFC West. Both caught passes on the eight-play, 53-yard drive Goff led to move Los Angeles into position for Gay’s game-winning kick.
"Every week you hope for games like this," said Woods of his performance. "When you're in that rhythm you know you can't be touched no matter who's guarding you."
Brady was 26 of 48 for 216 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams sacked him once and safety Jordan Fuller had both of the team’s interceptions.
"I'm definitely keeping those," Fuller said of his two interception balls that were thrown by Brady. "Those are going to be in my man cave one day. It was great to compete against one of the best quarterbacks of all time. It was fun."
Gay, a 2019 Bucs draft pick who was released after a rookie season marked by inconsistency, is the Rams’ third kicker in four weeks.
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The Bucs (7-4) fell to 1-3 in four prime-time games despite avoiding the type of slow starts that hurt them in losses to the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints and nearly cost them in a narrow victory over the New York Giants.
Coach Bruce Arians adjusted the team’s preparation schedule last week, holding two practices at night — one of them at Raymond James Stadium.
Brady answered a 10-play, 80-yard, 7-minute, 55-second drive Goff led to give the Rams a 7-0 lead with a couple of long scoring drives of his own to put the Bucs up 14-7 with a 9-yard TD pass to Mike Evans.
Goff threw first-half TD passes to Woods and Jefferson, then used Woods’ 20-yard catch and run to the Tampa Bay 20 to set up Gay’s 38-yard field goal as time expired to give Los Angeles a 17-14 lead at halftime.
With the Bucs trailing 24-17, Brady took advantage of Goff throwing his second interception of the night. Chris Godwin’s 13-yard TD catch made it 24-all, setting the stage for Goff to move the Rams downfield for the go-ahead field goal.
HISTORIC CREW
An all-Black officiating crew worked an NFL game for the first time in league history.
Referee Jerome Boger led the crew, which also included umpire Barry Anderson, down judge Julian Mapp, line judge Carl Johnson, field judge Dale Shaw, side judge Anthony Jeffries and back judge Greg Steed.
The members of Monday night’s officiating crew have a combined 89 seasons of NFL experience and have worked six Super Bowls.
The first Black official in any major sport was Burl Toler, hired by the NFL in 1965.
INJURIES
Rams: Did not announce any injuries during the game.
Buccaneers: LG Ali Marpet missed his third consecutive game due to a concussion. ... LT Donovan Smith injured his left ankle on the first offensive play of the game, but returned. ... CB Jamel Dean left in the third quarter with a concussion.
UP NEXT
Rams: Host NFC West rival San Francisco next Sunday.
Buccaneers: Remain at home to host defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
