Rams Top Bucs 28-13

By Tom Krasniqi

 

The losing streak is now five games for the Buccaneers.  The Rams beat the Bucs 28-13 at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday to send Tampa Bay to their 5th straight loss.  Bucs are now 6-9 on the season while the Rams improve to 7-7-1.

Bucs got the ball first to begin the game and took it down the field.  Josh Freeman looked sharp, hitting Vincent Jackson three times on the drive for 38 yards.  Freeman was 5 of 6 on the drive for 52 yards.  Connor Barth capped off the drive with a 29-yard FG to put the Bucs up 3-0.  It was a 15-play opening drive for the Bucs that took up nearly 10-minutes.  The Rams almost fumbled the ball away on their first possession when Danny Amendola was hit by Leonard Johnson.  The Bucs had a chance to recover but couldn’t do it.  Rams pounced on it back at their own 5 to avert disaster.    The fast moving first quarter ended with the Bucs up 3-0.

The Rams drove in Tampa Bay territory but their drive stalled when Sam Bradford was picked off in the endzone by Danny Gorrer as he tried to get it to Danny Amendola on a deep pass down the sideline.  But Freeman gave it right back to the Rams, and in a big way.  Janoris Jenkins stepped in front of a pass intended for Mike Williams and returned it 41-yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 7-3 lead.  Bucs got a little closer on a Barth 49-yd FG to make it 7-6.  A personal foul call on Rocky McIntosh kept that drive alive.  The Bucs got it back and drove into St. Louis territory, but another Freeman interception ended that drive as James Laurinitus came up with the pick.  Just before the half, the Rams embarked on a 9-play drive spanning 65 yards.  Steven Jackson capped the drive with a 5-yd TD run to give the Rams up 14-6 halftime lead.

The second half began in horrific fashion.  On the very first play, Bradford hit a wide open Lance Kendricks on an 80-yd TD pass to give St. Louis a 21-6 lead.  There was no one within 20 yards of Kendricks on the play.  Freeman was picked for the 3rd time on the day by Trumaine Johnson.  Once again, the Rams made the Bucs pay for their mistake.  Bradford hit Austin Pettis on a 5-yd scoring strike to make it 28-6 St. Louis.  The Bucs responded on a 61-yd TD pass by Freeman to Williams to make it 28-13 Rams.

The Bucs had a couple of drives turn up empty inside the Rams 10.  The Bucs turned it over twice on downs.  Then in the 4th quarter, Freeman was picked again.  This time, it was defensive lineman Eugene Sims on a pass deflected by Michael Brockers.  When the game ended, the stadium was about one-third full.  Not the way you want to finish off your 2012 home schedule.

 

News & Notes:

  • Josh Freeman had another rough outing.  He was sacked five times on the day and was under constant pressure. He also made some bad reads.  Freeman completed 30 of 54 passes for 372 yards, one TD and 4 INTs.  Freeman has 9 turnovers in his last two games.
  • Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams both recorded 100-yard receiving games.  Jackson had 7 catches for 108 yards while Williams had 7 receptions for 132 yards and a score. 
  • The Bucs close out their season next Sunday when they visit the Atlanta Falcons.  Our coverage begins at 9am on 620 WDAE, your home of the Bucs.