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St. Louis Rams make it two straight wins, beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23

By Alex Alarcon

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What a day to be alive. The St. Louis Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 on their last home game of the season. With a team that was on a five game losing streak, they have quickly turned it around, and have made it two straight wins. With the Rams wearing their new color rush jerseys, and having the thought of fellow teammate Stedman Bailey in their prayers, they played lights out today.

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The Rams played with heart today, and it clearly showed Thursday Night. First, St. Louis’ offense had another great week, as last week they had another successful week as well. Ever since the Rams fired past offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti a couple of weeks ago, St. Louis has played better on the offensive side of the ball. Replacement coordinator Rob Boras has had two straight victories along with a great offensive showing.

Thursday night, quarterback Case Keenum had his best game in his NFL career. Keenum finished the day with 234 yards and 2 Touchdowns. Keenum also had a career high 158.0 perfect quarterback rating, and led the Rams to their sixth victory of the season. Absolute insane numbers, as he looked controlled in the pocket, and never feared away from upcoming pressure. With an actual passing game, the Rams finally had a dual threat offense, and it showed in the final score.

The Rams key players on offense included Tavon Austin and Todd Gurley, yet they included other players in the offense Thursday night to get the early lead. Keenum threw to five different receivers which each of them played an important role in Thursday Night’s game. Keenum and Kenny Britt would connect on a 60 yard bomb early in the first quarter, and would also connect with the likes of Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks. Cook finished the day with 64 yards, as Kendricks had 27 yards to his name. Keenum got the ball out early, and gave them the early lead.

Dec 17, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Case Keenum (17) throws a pass in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

For the Rams running game, they once again as a team reached over 100 yards rushing in the game, but were still unable to get Gurley going. However on Gurley’s touchdown run, he would eclipse 1,000 yards on the season. Rookie of the year, I think so. Gurley became the 3rd rookie in Rams history to reach 1,000 rushing yards. The offense started off hot in the first half, but slowly became non existent in the second half, as the Bucs controlled the game and almost made a comeback.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston had himself a day in a way, as with them being down early, he got the green light to throw and throw. Winston finished the day with 363 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Even though the Rams got a very crucial victory, Winston still got too much passing yards.

Dec 17, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) reacts to scoring a touchdown in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The Buccaneers finished with 509 yards of offense while the Rams only got 319 yards. The downfall for the Bucs were the two costly turnovers and 4th and 1 stop that gave the Rams momentum to close the game out. Once again defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Trumaine Johnson came up big with turnovers. Johnson picked off Winston in the 4th quarter to stop another drive, while Donald continued to pressure Winston all game long.

In the last two games the Rams have averaged 26 points per game, and their opponents averaging 18.5. They also have a +1 turnover ratio. The Rams are quickly turning their season around, as they played their final home game Thursday night. Could this be the last game the Rams play in St. Louis? Even if they do or not, they left their heart on the field for a 31-23 victory.

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