St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Live St. Louis Score & Analysis

Final

St. Louis Rams 19, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

The outcome of this game will come with controversy, but the St. Louis Rams (1-1) managed to escape the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2) with a victory. 

Josh McCown hit Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans with a 29-yard deep ball with eight seconds remaining, putting the ball near field-goal range. However, a thunderous hit by Rams safety T.J. McDonald injured Evans on the play. The Buccaneers did not have any timeouts remaining, so the injury resulted in a 10-second runoff, which ended the game. 

No one can really say the Rams won thanks to a technicality, as there's no guarantee that Tampa kicker Patrick Murray (who had a kick blocked earlier in the game) would have nailed a 45-yard kick in wet conditions. Having said that, it's certainly not the most convincing way to win a game. 

Still, after last week's 34-6 loss to Minnesota in the home opener, the Rams will take any type of victory, regardless of how ugly the win is. 

The Rams had plenty of positives from the game. Austin Davis was excellent in his first career start at quarterback, Brian Quick continued to break out and Zac Stacy ran with intensity. 

The team still suffered from penalties and mental hiccups, but the overall performance against Tampa Bay was a solid improvement over last week's disastrous showing against the Vikings.

A week from now, the Rams will host the Dallas Cowboys, and the Buccaneers will hit the road for the first time in 2014 against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

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