All seemed lost for the Los Angeles Rams late in Sunday’s divisional matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite jumping out to a 27-3 lead in the contest, the Rams did everything in their power to suffer the same fate as the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51, allowing Tom Brady to lead his team back into the game with time waning down.
The game became knotted up at 27 following a Leonard Fournette touchdown run, leaving 42 seconds and a timeout for the Rams to avoid becoming a meme like the Falcons and the Golden State Warriors. While it was all smiles earlier in the game, every fan of the Rams watching everything unfold likely felt as if their heart was going to burst out of their chest.
But on the final drive of the fourth quarter, it was Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp that made career-defining plays when it mattered most. The drive began with Stafford taking a sack for a loss of 1, forcing Los Angeles to use its final timeout.
