The Bucs have been in a downward spiral for more than a month, and to get themselves out of it, they’ll have to do something they haven’t done since before Tom Brady arrived in 2020: beat the Rams.

Los Angeles (3-4) comes to town on Sunday afternoon off of a 31-14 loss to the 49ers last week. The defending Super Bowl champions have seen their share of struggles this season, too, but their lows haven’t quite paralleled those that the Bucs have dealt with. Tampa Bay lost to Pittsburgh (2-6) and Carolina (2-6) on the road before coming home last week to endure more of the same problems in a primetime loss to Baltimore.

The Bucs have lost three straight and five of their last six, due in part to their middling offense. Points have been hard to come by, and despite head coach Todd Bowles saying everything would be on the table regarding changes during the team’s mini bye week, it doesn’t appear that anything major — if anything at all — will be changed when Tampa Bay hosts Los Angeles this Sunday.

There’s no way around it: The 3-5 Bucs need a win on Sunday. Falling to 3-6 ahead of their trip to Germany would be disastrous, no matter how bad the NFC and the NFC South are. So, there’s plenty on the line at Raymond James Stadium in Week 9, but as always, we’ve got to take a look at what’s in play for the franchise and NFL record books as well.

Last week, Leonard Fournette tied Ricky Bell for the ninth-most rushing touchdowns in franchise history while Tom Brady worked his way to closer to some major NFL firsts. What’s up for grabs this week? Let’s get into it.

Tom Brady

Brady needs eight more completions to pass Trent Dilfer (1,117) for fourth-most in franchise history. He’s also still searching for his 28th regular season win with the Bucs, which will tie him with Jameis Winston for the third-most in team history.

Brady’s next fourth-quarter comeback will tie him with Peyton Manning (43) for the most in NFL history. We’ll see if the Tampa Bay quarterback is in that type of situation on Sunday, but there are two milestones that he’s likely to his against the Rams. He needs 13 completions to be the first player in league history to reach 7,500 in their career, while 164 more passing yards will make him the first player to break 100,000 in their career (regular season + postseason).

Leonard Fournette

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Fournette needs one more rushing touchdown to officially pass Ricky Bell (16) for ninth-most in team history, and two more will tie him with Ronald Jones II (18) for eighth-most.

The next touchdown pass Fournette catches will tie him for two franchise records. It will be his sixth with Tampa Bay, which will tie him with Adger Armstrong, Michael Pittman and Charles Sims for the fourth-most by a Buccaneer running back. Meanwhile, it will also tie him with Sims (four in 2015) for the most by a Bucs running back in a single season. He can also pass Gary Anderson (1,021) for seventh-most receiving yards by a running back in team history if he picks up 62 on Sunday.

Mike Evans

Evans is 75 receiving yards away from passing Chad Johnson (9,952) for the 10th-most by a player in their first nine seasons. With 122 receiving yards, he’ll become the first player to record 10,000 receiving yards as a Buc. Not to mention, he needs to average just 47 yards per game the rest of the season to break 1,000 receiving yards for the ninth straight year.

Evans hasn’t caught a touchdown since Oct. 2, which means he’s been stuck needing 21 more points to pass Michael Husted (502) for second-most in franchise history.

Sunday will mark Evans’ 129th career start, leaving him one behind Warren Sapp (130) for eighth-most in Bucs history.

Chris Godwin

Godwin’s next touchdown of any kind will tie him with Kevin House (31) for the sixth-most total touchdowns in franchise history. He also needs just two more receiving touchdowns to tie House (31) for fourth-most all-time.

With eight receiving yards against the Rams, Godwin will pass Mark Carrier (5,018) for second-most in Bucs history — behind only Mike Evans.

Cameron Brate

If Brate makes his return from the neck injury he suffered three weeks ago against Pittsburgh, he’ll continue his quest for history. He is one total touchdown away from tying Jimmie Giles (34) for fourth-most in franchise history, while one receiving touchdown ties him with Giles (34) for second-most receiving scores in Bucs history.

Lavonte David

Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Sunday will be David’s 158th career game, tying him with Mike Alstott for seventh-most in Bucs history. It will also mark his 158th career start, which will leave him 25 behind Paul Gruber (183) for third-most all-time.

David is one defensive touchdown away from tying David Logan and Mike Washington (four) for third-most in franchise history, while 1.5 more sacks will tie David with Logan (28.5) for 10th-most in Bucs history.

Will Gholston

Gholston will play in his 145th game as a Buc on Sunday afternoon, which means he’ll be just three behind Shelton Quarles (148) for ninth-most all-time.