St. Louis Rams vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Preview

The (5-8) St. Louis Rams host the (6-7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a special Thursday Night Showdown. It will be special for two reasons. First, the Rams and Buccaneers will be the last game this season that will show off the new Color Rush Jerseys. St. Louis is going with an all yellow jersey, while the Buccaneers are going with the bright red look. Fans across the nation are already calling it the “Condiment Bowl”.

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Lastly, could this be the last Rams home game in the Edward Jones Dome? The Rams are one of three teams who are submitting a new stadium approval for the 2016 season. There will be a private meeting in January with the NFL Owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell, to see if they will allow a team relocation based on their new stadium approval. But before that will happen, the Rams and Bucs will face off in another pride game.

St. Louis was recently on a five game losing streak in which the 31st ranked offense averaged an embarrassing 10.8 points a game, along with 275 yards of total offense. However with the move to fire offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti last week, replacement Rob Boras led the Rams to a new season high on offense. The Rams totaled 317 yards with a season high of 203 rushing yards. Jeff Fisher talked highly of the first game performance of Boras after last weeks victory.

"”We had prepared all week and (Boras) was on top of it,” Fisher said. ”I thought he was in really good rhythm and he was good with situational-type stuff. He’s just going to get better at it.”"

For quarterback Case Keenum he was not on the spotlight, but still managed to put up decent numbers after coming back from a concussion. Keenum threw for 124 yards with completing 63 percent of his passes along with an interception. Not the greatest day, but for the St. Louis Rams, this is somewhat a good day at the quarterback position.

Last week, the Rams eliminated the Detroit Lions from the playoffs with a huge victory, and could do the same with the Bucs tomorrow night. A loss Thursday with wins by the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings would also eliminate the Buccaneers from playoff contention. The Rams and Bucs have faced off the last three seasons with St. Louis winning each of them. The Rams have allowed an average of 14.3 points and 310.3 yards while on their current winning streak against Tampa Bay.

Dec 13, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) drops to pass during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium. The New Orleans Saints won 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

As for the Buccaneers they have lost two of the past three games, and recently fell to their rivals New Orleans Saints last Sunday. Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston has had himself an impressive second half of the season, as he has better results than both Nick Foles and Keenum combined. Winston just reached over the 3,000 passing yards last week, and is two touchdowns away from 20 on the season. Winston is ranked 15th on the Total Quarterback Rating, while Foles at 32nd, and Keenum still not on the list.

However the Buccaneers also have a problem where the Rams can relate too. Tampa Bay increased their season high penalty count to 125. Center Joe Hawley talked about the season so far, and noticed it takes every little thing to beat a team.

"”I think we’re learning that it takes every little thing to beat teams in the NFL, Nobody is easy. They’re all getting paid a lot of money, they’re all really good players. So you have to bring your best every week.”"

Will the St. Louis Rams make it two straight? Or will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ruin the Rams final home game this season? Make sure to tune in tomorrow for the last Color Rush Thursday Night Game.

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