7 takeaways from Rams’ narrow win vs. Buccaneers in divisional round

In the playoffs, the motto is “survive and advance.” It doesn’t matter if you win by 30 or three. As long as you have more points than your opponent when the clock hits zero, your Super Bowl hopes remain alive.

The Rams looked like they would beat the Buccaneers by 30 on Sunday in the divisional round, but Tampa Bay made things interesting with a miraculous comeback to tie the game with 42 seconds left. Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp wouldn’t let the game go into overtime, combining for 64 yards on the final drive to set up Matt Gay’s game-winning field goal.

This was an emotional win by the Rams in a game that shouldn’t have been all that close. But it taught us some things about Los Angeles, both good and bad.

Offensive tackles are a strength, but guard play has been sub-par

Rob Havenstein and Joe Noteboom were both studs for the Rams in this win over Tampa Bay. They allowed only one pressure each despite going up against Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul all afternoon. By no means are either of those players easy to block, which makes this performance so impressive by the Rams’ tackles – sans Andrew Whitworth.

Austin Corbett and David Edwards didn’t have great days on the interior, though. They each allowed four pressures and combined to give up three hits on Matthew Stafford, struggling to block Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea and even Rakeem Nunez-Rochez.

In Week 18 against the 49ers, Edwards and Corbett allowed 15 total pressures, so they’ll need to improve after a disastrous performance the last time San Francisco came to down.

Matthew Stafford excels in big moments

For the second week in a row, Stafford stepped up in a big way for the Rams. He was nearly perfect against the Cardinals in the wild-card round and then put together a heroic performance against the Bucs on Sunday afternoon after the Rams let Tampa Bay back in the game – through no fault of his own.

His 44-yard bomb to Cooper Kupp saved the Rams from a potentially embarrassing loss in overtime, an absolute dime with Ndamukong Suh running free up the middle and laying a shot on Stafford just as he let go of the ball.

After there were some concerns about Stafford’s ability to take care of the football in big games, he proved the last two weeks that there’s no reason to worry about him making critical errors. He hasn’t made a single one in two of the biggest games of his life.

Cam Akers’ ball security is a legitimate concern

One fumble can be excused. Two costly fumbles is a troubling trend.

In his third game back from injury, Akers put the ball on the ground twice – at critical moments, too. The first came at the 1-yard line with the Rams missing a chance to go up 27-3 before halftime. His second fumble was even worse, giving the ball back to the Bucs in a seven-point game with just over two minutes left to play.

Sean McVay expressed confidence in Akers after the game, but there’s reason to believe his fumbling issues are due to rust after being out for five months. He also dropped a pass against the Cardinals and didn’t look completely confident in his hands on Odell Beckham Jr.’s pass in that game, so hopefully this will improve as he gains comfort.

Pass rush must continue to set the tone for the defense

It’s not that the Rams’ secondary is bad, it’s just no longer the piece that’s carrying the defense. That title goes to the pass rush now, which has been absolutely relentless the last few weeks. Von Miller had a season-high 10 pressures against the Bucs, Aaron Donald had eight and Leonard Floyd had four, with that trio constantly pressuring Tom Brady throughout the game.

The pass rush has forced opposing quarterbacks to get the ball out quickly or risk getting sacked and hit time after time. It helps the secondary play more aggressively and can prevent big plays, which will be imperative against the 49ers. The Rams’ pass rush is a big reason they beat the Buccaneers and kept Brady in check for most of the game.

Rams can’t seem to close out games

In the last three weeks, the Rams have led 17-3, 21-0 and 20-3 at halftime. In the second half, they allowed an average of 18.7 points per game, getting outscored by 8.7 points in the final two quarters during that stretch.

That’s not a recipe for success in the playoffs, and the Rams are fortunate they were able to grab such big leads in the first half. Even though they managed to hold off the Buccaneers, it was certainly concerning to see the Rams let that become a competitive game after going up 27-3 in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay had no business coming back from 24 points with the way the Rams defense was playing. You simply can’t lose three fumbles in the second half and leave a 47-yard field goal short.

They’ll have to clean things up on Sunday against a 49ers team that came back from a 17-point deficit in Week 18.

Nick Scott should remain a starter when Taylor Rapp returns

The Rams have been without their two starting safeties the last two weeks, which has thrust Nick Scott and Terrell Burgess into starting roles. Burgess didn’t play much against the Buccaneers, but Scott was on the field for every snap and showed he deserves to remain a starter when Rapp returns – hopefully this week.

Scott picked off Brady before halftime and made a terrific play to break up another pass intended for Rob Gronkowski, turning in the best game of his career. As a middle-of-the-field safety, Scott has proved capable of starting in the NFL and deserves to keep playing meaningful snaps over Eric Weddle in the NFC Championship.

No secondary can match up with Rams’ pass catchers

There isn’t a secondary in the playoffs right now that can go toe-to-toe with the Rams’ pass catchers. For starters, no one can cover Kupp. The Buccaneers tried man coverage and zone against him, and neither worked.

Then with Odell Beckham Jr. playing as well as he is right now on the outside, teams can’t afford to double Kupp because Beckham is a terror to tackle after the catch so when he’s matched up in man coverage, the defender chasing him will struggle to keep up.

Van Jefferson had an up-and-down year, but he’s still a valuable downfield weapon and had 44 total yards on just three touches – including a 15-yard carry after the Rams’ ground game couldn’t get anything going.

Tyler Higbee is good for four-plus catches and 50-plus yards every week, and Akers consistently makes plays as a receiver when given the opportunity. The 49ers’ secondary isn’t great and that’s one area the Rams must attack on Sunday.

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