Even after a mini bye week, the Bucs’ offense continued to be absolutely abysmal with penalties, dropped passes, inaccurate throws, horrendous play-calling and untimely sacks and pressures. But despite three-and-a-half quarters of putrid offense, they were still able to put together enough juice late in the game to pull out a surprising 16-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

The final score had the Bucs winning 16-13, but it hardly told the story of the game. Or did it? Both teams had underperforming offenses coming into their Week 9 bout. And both offenses failed to generate very much in the game. Ultimately, the Bucs prevailed after abandoning their entire offensive game plan in a last-ditch effort to salvage their season. And it worked.

The Bucs’ seemingly last-gasp attempt at a touchdown came on fourth-and-goal at the Rams’ 6-yard line, but Tom Brady’s pass for Mike Evans was broken up by two Rams defenders. Two plays earlier, Scotty Miller dropped a would-be touchdown in the back of the end zone. It looked like Tampa Bay was headed for its fourth straight loss and a 3-6 record.

But thanks to a heads-up play by the Bucs defense on the ensuing Rams drive, the offense got another shot. By not touching wide receiver Cooper Kupp as he slid to the ground on a smoke screen, Tampa Bay allowed him to go out of bounds and stop the clock on second down. On the next play, the Bucs were able to stop the Rams from gaining a first down and gave themselves one more chance.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

And for the first time in seemingly ages, the offense did not let the defense down. Starting at their own 40-yard line, Brady hit tight end Cade Otton deep down the seam for a 28-yard gain. Brady followed that up two plays later with a short completion to running back Leonard Fournette in the flat. Fournette was able to get four yards and, more importantly, get out of bounds to stop the clock with just 24 seconds left on the clock and no timeouts to work with.

On the following two plays, Brady found wide receiver Scotty Miller for gains of 14 and seven yards, respectively. With the Rams playing soft zone coverage, not only was Miller able to make easy grabs, but he too was able to get out of bounds to preserve clock. With 16 seconds left, Brady attempted an endzone shot to Evans. While Evans was unable to corral the pass, a defensive pass interference penalty on Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick gave the Bucs renewed life, setting them up with 1st and Goal at the Rams’ 1-yard line.

That life would be capitalized on, as Brady took a shotgun snap, faked a handoff to Fournette and fittingly found Otton in the right flat for an easy score.

After spending almost the entire game trying to establish the run to the tune of six points, the Bucs’ offense came to life in the fourth quarter. On the back of their passing game, they generated three drives that netted two scores (a field goal and a touchdown), plus a drive that went deep into Rams territory before turning the ball over on downs.

One of the lone bright spots – aside from three Ryan Succop field goals – was the fact that Brady surpassed 100,000 career passing yards, including the postseason. Brady needed 164 passing yards to reach that milestone, but he didn’t hit it until late in the fourth quarter due to the offense continuing to stall.

Brady completed 36-of-58 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs defense once again played outstanding football in the first half – except for one play. Unfortunately, that one play was a 69-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp. Outside of that play, the Bucs held the Rams offense to just 35 yards in the first half with 104 total yards. Los Angeles would only finish with 206 yards of total offense, and Tampa Bay racked up four sacks of Matthew Stafford, including a pair by defensive tackle Vita Vea.

Tampa Bay had 163 yards at half, but only six points to show for it. That didn’t change until the fourth quarter when the Bucs fell behind 13-6, as the Rams added a pair of Matt Gay field goals in the third quarter.

The Bucs defense got a rare three-and-out stop on the Rams’ first possession of the game, and the offense was able to capitalize to take an early lead. Brady was 5-of-6 for 51 yards on the opening drive, completing two passes to Evans for 23 yards and a 19-yard strike to Julio Jones. But the drive stalled at the Rams’ 2-yard line after an ill-advised run up the middle on third-and-goal only gained one yard. Tampa Bay settled for a 20-yard field goal from Succop.

Rams WR Cooper Kupp – Photo by: USA Today

The Rams answered in the second quarter and took a 7-3 lead after Kupp’s 69-yard touchdown. Keanu Neal was in zone coverage and passed Kupp off to free safety Mike Edwards, who was late coming over. Kupp had a similar 70-yard touchdown in the NFC Divisional Playoffs against the Bucs in January.

The Bucs had a chance to score with just under three minutes left before halftime, but Succop’s 52-yard field goal attempt was blocked by inside linebacker Bobby Wagner.

After a three-and-out by the Rams, the Bucs drove down the field for another scoring opportunity. A 32-yard pass interference penalty on Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick, who was covering Evans, gave the Bucs a big gain to the Tampa Bay 49. Brady hit Godwin for a gain of seven yards, Jones for a gain of nine yards and Fournette for a gain of 10.

But once again, Tampa Bay’s drive stalled in the red zone at the 20-yard line. Succop’s 38-yard field goal cut the Rams’ lead to 7-6 before halftime.

Los Angeles added a pair of Gay field goals after halftime to increase its lead to 13-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

While there is much to celebrate as the Bucs regain the NFC South division lead at 4-5, there is still much to worry about. While Tampa Bay’s offense looked more than capable in two-minute situations, it still lacked cohesion and competency for most of the game. And while the defense played extremely well, led by Vea and linebacker Lavonte David, the Rams were a struggling offense coming into the game (ranked dead last in the NFL in expected points added per play).

The Bucs live to fight another day. But it was the ugliest and closest of wins one can imagine.