TAMPA, Fla. — Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams defense got the better of six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Monday Night Football.
The final score saw the Rams winning 27-24 and in improved to 7-3 on the season and impressively improved to 32-0 when leading at halftime under McVay. The went in with a 17-14 lead at the break.
In a balanced performance from the visitors, Goff ended 39 of 51 on completed passes and had short scoring tosses to Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and Cam Akers in the win for the Rams. He finished with 376 yards passing and three touchdowns and threw a pair of interceptions at Raymond James Stadium.
“Jared just continued to demonstrate resilience,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “I love the fact he was outstanding from the jump.
“We had that one little mistake, and he just kept competing. What he did in terms of leading us down the field at the most important moment was critical.”
Matt Gay provided the last scoring play when he kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining and rookie safety Jordan Fuller picked off Brady late with his second interception of the champion quarterback to lift the Rams back into first place in the NFC West with back-to-back wins.
Cooper Kupp had 11 receptions for 145 yards and Woods caught 10 passes for 130 yards for Los Angeles, which used an eight-play, 53-yard drive to setup the winning field goal. Both Kupp and Woods were influential during the drive as they each grabbed passes in the trip forward.
“We can be as good as we want to be, honestly,” Goff said after Monday night’s victory. “We’ve got it all in front of us. Everything is there for us to take.”
He added: “I’ve always believed in myself in any situation, but when you actually do it in a tough environment, it makes you feel good.”
Brady, who was pressed all night by the Los Angeles Rams defense, ended the night 26 of 48 for 216 yards and two touchdowns with his pair of picks as Tampa Bay (7-4) fell to its second defeat in three games.
Brady has now thrown eight interceptions this season, which matches his entire total from last season.
“Disappointed. I have to do a better job,” Brady told reporters. “They did a good job preventing (the big play). They play a defense that makes them tough to hit. Not impossible, but we didn’t hit any.”
Like Los Angeles, the Buccaneers struggled to get their running game going as the Rams limited the home side to just 42 yards rushing, with Ronald Jones II (24) and Leonard Fournette (17) accounting for 41 of the total yards on the ground.
The Rams only totaled 37 yards rushing.
“Everybody is disappointed. Everybody was ready to play,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said. “We played a good football team. Nobody’s head is down.”
Picking off Brady as he tried to push Tampa Bay forward for a possible win, was the perfect way to cap of the night for Fuller, the sixth round draft pick who was released from the injury reserve last week.
He spoke about both interceptions.
“I was just in my zone, and the quarterback ended up throwing it in my direction,” said Fuller. “I was just telling myself, ‘Don’t drop it, don’t drop it, don’t drop it.’
“The second one was kind of the same,” Fuller added. “I was just reading the quarterback’s eyes and was able to go out there and get it.”
Jared Goff Sits Alongside Tom Brady
According to ESPN Stats and Information research, Goff’s completed 39 passes in the win for the Rams him alongside Brady (2009 vs Bills) for the 2nd-most completions in a Monday Night Football Game.
The record is held by Ken Anderson, who completed 40 passes in a Monday Night Football game in 1982.
