Buccaneers vs. Rams: St. Louis Grades, Notes and Quotes
The St. Louis Rams (6-8) handed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8) a tough 31-23 loss. It's the second-straight win for the Rams, who seem to be on a mini-roll following this latest prime-time victory on Thursday Night Football.
The Rams were in rare form. The usually sluggish offense was rolling on all cylinders. Case Keenum's 234 passing yards were the second-highest total for a Rams quarterback this season and the highest since Nick Foles' 297-yard performance in Week 1.
The Rams never got Todd Gurley going on the ground—he was held to less than 50 rushing yards—but he punched in a goal-line touchdown. The Rams added two more touchdowns through the air and another rushing score by Tavon Austin.
St. Louis was ferocious on defense in the opening half. Aaron Donald absolutely dominated the Tampa Bay backfield, which made it difficult for the Bucs to get anything going offensively. The Rams let up in the second half, allowing Tampa to score 20 of its 23 points, but it wasn't enough for the Buccaneers to make a difference.
The Rams showed up ready to play, and it paid off. This was the home finale for St. Louis, so hometown fans were rewarded with an exciting send-off.
For more on this game, including grades, quotes and takeaways, read on.
Position Grades
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Quarterback: A+
Case Keenum was absolutely electric in the opening half. It was easily the best performance we've seen by a Rams quarterback this season. He opened the game by going 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) for 175 yards and two touchdown passes.
Overall, Keenum finished 14-of-17 (82.3 percent) with 234 yards and two touchdowns. He played like a legitimate starting quarterback in this game.
The Rams are hoping to see more of that type of play out of him in the future.
Running Back: B
One thing St. Louis has failed to do consistently is get Gurley involved in the passing game. On the opening-drive touchdown, the biggest play was a 19-yard reception for Gurley that set up the touchdown. He is excellent at catching passes out of the backfield, so it was good to see him involved.
Gurley hit the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 26 rushing yards in the first half. He also punched in his ninth touchdown of the year. But overall, Gurley didn't have any big plays on the ground and was limited to 48 rushing yards. He just wasn't able to bust one free—his longest run went for nine yards.
Tavon Austin helped out with a 15-yard carry in the first half and 32 rushing yards overall, but most of St. Louis' offensive success in this game came through the air.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: A
The pass-catchers really came alive in this game. The usually boring and inept St. Louis aerial attack finally showed some life.
On the third St. Louis drive, Kenny Britt hauled in a 60-yard touchdown—his longest reception of the 2015 season—and he finished with 71 yards in the first half. Austin added a 17-yard touchdown catch as well.
During the opening drive, tight end Lance Kendricks contributed an 11-yard grab that help set up that initial touchdown. Jared Cook also helped out from the tight end position—he added a key sliding grab for 17 yards and a first down near the end of the second quarter and ended the game with 64 yards.
The receivers made plenty of plays that kept the offense alive. It was the best game of the year for this unit.
Offensive Line: C+
It was a mixed game for the offensive line. On one hand, the linemen gave Keenum enough time to make plays through the air. On the other, the run game was very weak, and the Buccaneers stuffed Gurley at the line of scrimmage on practically every carry.
The penalties continue for left tackle Greg Robinson, who had a false start in the opening half. His focus continues to be a major issue, as he struggles to play mistake-free football.
Even so, the line did enough for the offense to be successful.
Defensive Line: B
On a key 4th-and-1 in the second quarter, Tampa Bay made the gutsy call to go for it. Donald shut it down by stopping Doug Martin in the backfield for a two-yard loss. St. Louis took over on downs.
The Rams did not sack Jameis Winston, but he was constantly under pressure, which affected his accuracy and hurt the Tampa offense.
Overall, the line wasn't as productive as we've seen in the past, but it was still a handful.
Linebacker: B-
James Laurinaitis made a nice heads-up play in the second half. When the Tampa Bay ball-carrier fell down near the St. Louis goal line, he assumed he was down but actually went untouched. After the ball-carrier stood up, Laurinaitis knocked the ball from his hands, which nearly resulted in a critical St. Louis takeaway.
Mark Barron made some nice tackles at the line of scrimmage and showed up against his former team, but there's room for improvement at the linebacker position. Doug Martin scrambled for 91 yards on 18 carries, and Charles Sims had 50 yards on just seven attempts.
The Tampa Bay backs reached the second level too easily in certain instances, but the linebackers did enough to avoid being a liability.
Secondary: C
The secondary had a nice start to the game, holding Winston to just one completion in six attempts during the opening quarter.
In the second half, Trumaine Johnson came up with a pick. It was his sixth of the year, and he now ranks third among all NFL players in interceptions.
Despite the positives, Winston ended the game with 363 aerial yards and two touchdowns. Mike Evans shattered the secondary for 157 yards.
The Buccaneers were throwing more than usual to play catch-up with the Rams, but the St. Louis secondary was far too lenient.
Special Teams: A+
Special teams were excellent in this game. They played a mistake-free game—which is what you want to see every week—but also made a few huge plays.
In the second half, Benny Cunningham took a kickoff back for a 102-yard return. However, he fell down inside the 5-yard line and wasn't able to secure the much-deserved touchdown. The offense wasn't able to get the touchdown either, even with Gurley in the backfield. The Rams had to settle for a field goal, but it was still an admirable play by Cunningham.
At the end of the fourth quarter, with Tampa Bay down by just eight, the Buccaneers attempted an onside kick. Linebacker Bryce Hager made the potential game-saving play and came up with the ball.
Coaching: A
The coaching staff entered this game with a clear blueprint to get Gurley and Austin the football. The plan worked flawlessly, at least in the first half, and the Rams produced a 31-point effort as a result—the team's second-highest point total of the year.
The defense stuck with its usual "bend-don't-break" philosophy, and it paid off. The Rams gave up yards, but other than Tampa's fourth-quarter rally with the game already practically sealed, the Buccaneers struggled to find points.
Rams Get Young Offensive Stars Involved
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The success of the Rams absolutely on how well Gurley and Austin perform. When the two young offensive stars do not receive proper support and get shut down, it doesn't bode well for the Rams. St. Louis is 4-1 when Gurley hits 100 yards and 4-2 in games where Austin finds the end zone.
St. Louis has struggled to get them involved at times this season. Gurley was held to nine carries in Week 12 against Cincinnati and Week 13 against Arizona. Meanwhile, Austin has exceeded 10 offensive touches just once this season.
In this game, the two combined for 16 first-half touches, for a total of 102 yards and two touchdowns. Austin added yet another touchdown in the second half. The Rams entered with a clear commitment to get Gurley and Austin involved, and it paid dividends.
Poor offensive line play and inconsistency at quarterback have made it tough to provide Gurley and Austin with proper support. Gurley frequently runs into brick walls—as we saw in this game—and the quarterback play has been too sloppy to get Austin the ball consistently.
That wasn't really an issue in this one. Gurley didn't have any monster runs on the ground, but he punched in the red-zone touchdown and had receptions of 12 and 19 yards. And since Keenum was completing passes left and right, there was no issue in getting the ball in Austin's hands.
When Gurley and Austin are on fire, the St. Louis offense takes care of business.
Case Keenum Earning His Spot in 2016
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Keenum's play helped lead the Rams to a victory over the Lions a week ago. Against the Buccaneers, his 234 yards and 82.3-percent completion rate led the team to victory. The Rams have not seen quarterback play that solid all year long.
Keenum is not the only reason for the offense's recent surge and the team's two-game win streak, but he's a major part of it. His mobility has taken pressure off the offensive line, and his accuracy is much better than anything we've seen from Foles.
Between Austin Davis and Foles, the Rams know better than anyone that a few good games by a quarterback hardly means he's a long-term answer. Even so, barring a complete implosion in the last two games, Keenum has earned a right to fight for a job next year.
That's not to say the Rams should avoid an intense search for a new quarterback this season—it just means that Keenum should be present regardless of who they bring in.
Based on what we've seen from Keenum the last two weeks, the Rams can win with his type of quarterback play. Now, the only question is whether he can maintain that level of play consistently.
If he continues to excel in the final two games, the Rams will certainly retain him. He's a restricted free agent after this season, according to Spotrac, so St. Louis will have the opportunity to keep him if it wants to.
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Jared Cook Winning Back Respect
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Cook had a rough start to 2015 and generated a lot of criticism.
In Week 7 against Cleveland, he had a crucial fumble inside the Cleveland red zone that could have changed the momentum of the game. According to Pro Football Focus, he still leads all tight ends in drops with eight, but most of those drops came in the first half of the season.
Cook is still far from the mismatch nightmare and game-changing tight end the Rams signed him to be, but he has improved in the second half of 2015.
He turned in an excellent performance against Tampa Bay. He led the team with four catches and produced 64 yards, including a 25-yard grab. Several of his reception were key first downs.
In one instance, Cook made a grab around the Tampa Bay red zone. Seven Buccaneers defenders (pictured above) collided with him, but all that muscle couldn't bring him down. He fought his way out of bounds and stayed on his feet, which just shows how much heart he's playing with.
As we saw Thursday night, Cook can be a key playmaker when his head is in the game and he has a quarterback who can get him the ball. The Rams are hoping to see more promising moments from Cook moving forward.
Aaron Donald on the Warren Sapp Comparisons
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"(Warren Sapp) was a dominant player. And like I said, he's one of the best to ever do it," Aaron Donald said, responding to the comparison between him and Warren Sapp, per the NFL Network postgame interview.
Following the game, the NFL Network panel interviewed Donald and compared him to one of the game's greats—Warren Sapp.
It's a comparison that comes up often and is difficult to dispute. Donald has dominated the game in Sapp-like fashion, and the Rams could not be more pleased with the progress he's made in less than two full seasons.
In reality, Donald has shown more promise as pass-rusher in his first two years than Sapp did. Donald already has 20 career sacks, and his sophomore campaign is not even over. Sapp had 12 sacks his first two seasons.
Donald is the highest-ranked player in all of the NFL by Pro Football Focus, with a grade of 71.2. That grade will only improve after Thursday's excellent performance.
The Defensive Player of the Year award typically favors players from playoff teams—which is why Robert Quinn was snubbed in 2013—but if Donald doesn't win this year, something is wrong with the system.
Jim Thomas on the Offense's Performance
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"This marks the first time the Rams have scored as many as 30 points since the 34-31 overtime victory over Seattle on opening day," wrote Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Twitter.
The St. Louis Rams entered this game with the second-worst scoring offense in the league, averaging just 16.2 points per game. As Jim Thomas mentioned, it's just the second time the Rams have exceeded 30 points in a game this season.
The frustrating part is that the Rams do not need a top-notch offense to win. If St. Louis could field just an average offense on a weekly basis, the Rams would most certainly own a better record and be part of the playoff picture.
The Buccaneers rank 16th in points with 22.2 points per game, so that's about average. Had the Rams scored the average 22 points in each of their losses this season, they'd own a 9-5 record and be on the brink of a playoff berth.
Instead, the Rams are wasting one of the better defenses in the league thanks to an inability to produce points. It wasn't an issue in this game, but the Rams must see more of this moving forward.
Jim Thomas on the 'Color Rush' Uniforms
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"Let's face it, Bucs aren't cutting the mustard tonight," Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote on Twitter.
The NFL released "Color Rush" uniforms for several teams. As seen above in the photo, the Rams and Buccaneers debuted their jerseys in this game.
The jerseys received a wide variety of praise and criticism on Twitter. Jeff Fisher must not have been a fan, as Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reported Fisher is relieved he didn't have to put on the uniform.
“I said this to the team and I’ve oftentimes said this before, I’m just glad it’s not baseball where I have to wear the uniform as well,” Fisher said.
The running joke throughout the game was that the Rams and Buccaneers looked like ketchup and mustard, and it's hard to argue with that.
In the end, for all St. Louis fans care, the Rams can dress in pink polka dots if they play like this every week. So long as a team is winning, the fans could care less what jerseys the players wearing.
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.
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