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Rams’ Week 3 win vs. Buccaneers should serve as blueprint for playoff rematch

For the second week in a row, the Los Angeles Rams’ playoff opponent will be a team they already beat in the regular season. It yielded a positive result this past week when they beat the Arizona Cardinals, and they hope to have the same fortune on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

All the way back in Week 3, the Rams beat the Bucs convincingly, 34-24. It snapped Tampa Bay’s nine-game winning streak dating back to 2020, giving the Rams a statement win against a quality opponent. Beating Tom Brady twice in one season is always difficult, but the Rams have beaten him in back-to-back meetings already, so they have the formula for an upset.

Here’s how they can use their Week 3 win as a blueprint for knocking off the Buccaneers for the second time this season.

Don’t blitz Brady much

Blitzing Brady isn’t a worthwhile move. According to Sports Info Solutions, the Rams blitzed Brady 14 times in Week 3. He completed 11 of 13 passes against the blitz, gaining 99 yards with a passer rating of 98.4. It was right in line with the trend of Brady routinely beating the blitz, both this season and throughout his career.

This year, he has a passer rating of 103.8 against the blitz compared to 101.6 when he isn’t blitzed. The Rams have a pass rush that’s more than capable of getting home without fifth and sixth defenders also going after the quarterback. Raheem Morris should trust Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Leonard Floyd to pressure Brady without feeling the need to blitz the veteran quarterback.

Shut down the running game

This is easier said than done, but it’s a big reason the Rams won in Week 3. Brady led the Bucs in rushing with 14 yards on three attempts, a credit to the Rams completely shutting down Ronald Jones (11 yards) and Leonard Fournette (8 yards).

It’s not as if they loaded the box to stop the run, either. It was just a great performance against the Bucs’ ground game by A’Shawn Robinson, Floyd and Sebastian Joseph-Day, all of whom had run defense grades of 70-plus from Pro Football Focus.

It sounds foolish to make the Brady-led Buccaneers to become one-dimensional with a skew toward the pass, but they no longer have the playmakers at wide receiver that they once did with Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown. Now, Mike Evans is relied upon heavily to be the go-to receiver, which the Rams can counter by putting Jalen Ramsey on him.

Utilize empty sets

According to Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, Stafford completed 10 of 14 passes out of empty sets, gaining 129 yards and one touchdown in Week 3 against the Buccaneers. His passer rating on those plays was 123.8, so he exceled in empty backfields.

When the Rams go empty, it spreads the Bucs defense out and makes it tougher for them to blitz. They have five eligible receivers to cover on the outside and if Tampa Bay blitzes, Stafford will find holes in the defense and get rid of the ball quickly.

Empty sets have been a point of frustration for fans when the Rams have third-and-short and split the back out wide, but this is a game where empty formations makes sense.

Take shots deep

This Buccaneers secondary can be beaten deep. Jalen Hurts struggled with accuracy against them last week but he still managed to complete two passes at least 25 yards down the field, missing his receiver a few other times on deep shots. In total, he threw it at least 25 yards beyond the line of scrimmage 11 times, mostly to the left side.

Stafford threw it 20 yards downfield five times in Week 3 and completed three of them, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson. The Rams no longer have the speed that Jackson brings, but Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. are capable of winning deep.

This isn’t the game to dink-and-dunk the ball down the field. It’s a good opportunity for Stafford to throw the ball downfield and challenge Tampa Bay’s cornerbacks.

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