The winners of the last two Super Bowls will meet at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. The question is, can either one use this marquee matchup to reestablish itself as a contender for the next Super Bowl.
The Rams will visit the site of Super Bowl LV, in which the Buccaneers became the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in its own home stadium. The very next year, the Rams accomplished the same feat, defeating Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Thus, both franchises have accomplished their ultimate goal within the past two seasons, but in that span the head-to-head series between the Buccaneers and Rams has been decidedly one-sided.
That means the Buccaneers come into Sunday’s contest with an eye on ending not only a current three-game losing streak that has dropped them to 3-5 overall, but also a run of three-straight losses to the Rams over the 2020-21 seasons. Tampa Bay overcame its regular-season defeat against the Rams to go all the way to the title, and rebounded from an early-season loss in Los Angeles last year to end up with a home game in the NFC Divisional Round. Unfortunately, the opponent in that game was the Rams, who turned back a stunning second-half comeback to win on a walk-off field goal, 30-27.
The Buccaneers won their second Super Bowl in the first season after the dramatic free agent acquisition of quarterback Tom Brady. Brady fully unlocked the potential of the team’s loaded group of pass-catchers and directed the highest-scoring team in the league over his first two seasons at the helm. The Rams won their second Super Bowl as a franchise in the first season after a bold trade for Matthew Stafford. Stafford threw for nearly 5,000 yards and over 40 touchdowns as the Rams also got over the offensive hump with a proven veteran passer.
Brady and Stafford remain at the helms of their respective offenses, but neither one has yet found the same high gear it operated at during the past two seasons. In many ways, the two teams are treading water in similar ways. Los Angeles ranks 31st in the NFL in rushing offense, ahead of only Tampa Bay. The Bucs are 25th in points per game, the Rams are 28th. Neither team has been efficient in the red zone. The Buccaneers have lost five of their last six and have had trouble putting together full 60-minute games despite spurts of efficiency on both sides of the ball. The Rams have lost three of their last four and have been held to 14 points or less in all four of their losses this…
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