Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. St. Louis Rams: What's the Game Plan for St. Louis?

The St. Louis Rams (5-8) will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) for Thursday Night Football on the NFL Network. It’s both teams' first and only prime-time game of the year. For St. Louis, it’ll be the final home game of the 2015 season.

The Buccaneers finished 2-14 a year ago and were a laughingstock, but things have changed. Jameis Winston is looking like a long-term fixture at the quarterback position. Running back Doug Martin is looking like his Pro Bowl-caliber rookie self—he’s currently second in the NFL with 1,214 rushing yards—and the stout Tampa Bay defense ranks 11th in the NFL under the leadership of veteran coach Lovie Smith.

The Rams are coming off a key win over the Detroit Lions, which snapped a five-game losing streak, but this will be a tough challenge to overcome. St. Louis has struggled to demonstrate any consistency this season. Despite last week’s success, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the offense regress into its usual dormant state.

To take down the Buccaneers, the Rams will need to bring their best game and spark the offense. Here’s what to look for:

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

Offensive Game Plan

It’s the same thing every week. The Rams need Todd Gurley—they need a lot of him.

During the Rams’ last two losses—blowout losses to Arizona and Cincinnati—Gurley was held to just nine carries in each game. He had a 34-yard run against Arizona but was held to eight total rushing yards on his other eight carries combined.

Clearly, the Rams are struggling to use Gurley properly, and the offense isn’t giving him much support.

Last week was better. St. Louis was able to get Gurley 16 attempts, which he turned into 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It was the first time Gurley has found the end zone since Week 11 and his first 100-yard effort since Week 8.

Considering the Rams are 4-1 when Gurley hits the 100-yard mark—the one loss coming against Green Bay—it’s pretty obvious the Rams need to get him involved by any means necessary. He’s the only elite player on the offensive side of the ball.

Sparking Gurley requires that the Rams provide proper offensive support. Last week, Case Keenum hardly lit up the field, as he was held to 124 passing yards, but he did complete 63.6 percent of his passes, which was vital. When Keenum can connect to his receivers the opposing defense has to respect that, which opens things up for Gurley. If the receivers are catching passes on the outside, the defense no longer has the luxury of stacking the box.

Additionally, the Rams must get Tavon Austin involved, who has been horribly underutilized since being drafted in 2013.

It’s no coincidence that Austin and Gurley frequently have big games simultaneously—see Week 4 at Arizona, Cleveland in Week 7, San Francisco in Week 8 and Detroit in Week 14—as the two seem to feed off each other. When Austin is getting touches, making plays and demanding respect, defenses can no longer zero in on Gurley.

Austin has exceeded 10 offensive touches in just one game this season. It’s beyond inexplicable—it’s mind-boggling and blatantly stupid.

If the Rams can properly utilize the two star playmakers, the offense will cease its horrible incompetence and ineptitude.

Steve Nesius/Associated Press

Defensive Game Plan

As for the defense, the Rams must focus on what they do best—stopping the run, preventing points and hunting the quarterback.

Martin is the center of the Tampa Bay offense. When he’s at his best, opposing defenses are forced to go all-in by stacking the box and stopping the run. When this happens, it’s very problematic. The focus on Martin takes a lot of pressure off Winston, who is then free to air it out to Tampa’s giant wide receivers.

Winston can be quite successful when Martin is moving the football. In Week 7, Martin rushed for 136 yards with 171 total yards from scrimmage. Winston had 297 passing yards, two touchdowns and zero picks in that game. In Week 11, Martin absolutely dominated Philadelphia with 235 rushing yards. Predictably, Winston has a solid 246 aerial yards and a whopping five touchdown passes.

As you can see, the key is shutting down Martin. To do that, the Rams will be counting on Aaron Donald to blow up the line of scrimmage and make plays in the backfield. If Donald can shut down runs up the gut—as he’s done in many games this year—Tampa will struggle to get Martin going.

Additionally, the Rams must account for Tampa Bay’s monstrous receivers—Mike Evans (6’5”, 231 lbs), Vincent Jackson (6’5”, 230 lbs)—but luckily, the defense will have some help. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, cornerback Janoris Jenkins will be back in the lineup after missing last week:

"

CB Janoris Jenkins (concussion) clears protocol, will play Thursday. He was full-go Weds. and is listed as probable for Bucs.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) December 16, 2015"

Jenkins has been extremely productive in coverage for St. Louis this year. According to Pro Football Focus, Jenkins has an overall grade of 8.5, which ranks him 16th among 116 NFL cornerbacks. His return comes at the perfect time, as he’ll be needed this week to shut down Evans.

The Rams were able to hold Calvin Johnson to a single 16-yard catch in the last game, and that was with Jenkins out of the lineup. With Jenkins back, the pass coverage should see a significant boost.

In the end, the most important goal is the contain Martin. If the Rams are successful at that, points will be hard to come by for Tampa Bay.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Prediction: Rams 17, Buccaneers 13

The 17-13 prediction made in the game-preview article still seems reasonable. The Rams certainly showed life last week and will be eager to end the year on a hot streak—especially since Jeff Fisher’s job likely depends on it.

The Rams have played the Buccaneers every year since Fisher took over in 2012. All three times, St. Louis took care of business. This is a new Bucs team, but the Rams have had their number for several years now.

St. Louis is very solid at preventing points. The Rams rank 12th in the NFL in fewest points allowed—20.8 points per game on average. That average is even inflated due to several blowout losses during St. Louis’ five-game drought. Meanwhile, the Bucs are 1-5 when held to 20 points or less in a game.

As long as the Rams defense shows up in top-notch form, St. Louis should be capable of pulling ahead.

Not to mention, St. Louis owns the home-field advantage. This isn’t just any typical home game, either. With the relocation rumors looming overhead, there’s a possibility this could be the last home game in the Edward Jones Dome. That extra emotion will be felt by the players and fans.

This will be St. Louis’ opportunity to prove last week was not a fluke.

Steven Gerwel is the longest-tenured Rams Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and serves as the Rams' 2015 game-day correspondent. You can find more of Gerwel's work by visiting his writer profile or by following him on Twitter.