The PewterReport.com Roundtable features the opinions of the PR staff as it tackles a topic each week that involves the Bucs.

This week’s topic: Who Do The Bucs Have To Game Plan For In L.A.?

Scott Reynolds: Rams WR Cooper Kupp

Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald is the obvious choice, but I’ll let someone else profile him. Instead, I want to talk about Rams slot receiver Cooper Kupp, who will be a tough match-up for Bucs nickel cornerback M.J. Stewart, who has had trouble sticking with receivers downfield. Kupp leads the Rams with 23 catches for 268 yards and a pair of scores.

Rams WR Cooper Kupp – Photo by: Getty Images

Kupp isn’t known as the big-play receiver. That’s speedster Brandin Cooks, as Kupp averages just 11.7 yards per catch. But Kupp does have 140 yards after catch and can turn short slant passes into big gains with his ability to accelerate and dodge defenders in the open field. He had a 66-yard reception in a 27-9 win against New Orleans in Week 2. More importantly, he’s Jared Goff’s security blanket on third down and a go-to guy on other downs.

The 6-foot-2 Kupp had 11 catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams’ 20-13 victory in Cleveland on Sunday Night Football just one week after having five receptions for 120 yards. The Panthers did a good job of slowing Kupp down in Week 1, holding him to seven catches for 46 yards (6.6 avg.) in a win at Carolina.

Because Stewart may have trouble keeping up with Kupp downfield past 10 yards, Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles may have to use bracket coverage with Kupp and keep a safety like Mike Edwards over the top to prevent big plays in the passing game. Of course blitzing Goff and getting him on the ground is the surest way to prevent him from getting Kupp really involved in the passing game to begin with. If Kupp has a 100-yard day in Los Angeles on Sunday it might spell doom for Tampa Bay.

Mark Cook: QB Jared Goff

Through two games to begin the season, the Buccaneers defense was able to keep the opposing team’s starting quarterbacks in check. Then last week happened. While fans assumed Todd Bowles’ swarming defensive and aggressive secondary would give New York Giants rookie Daniel Jones fits, it turned out to be the exact opposite. It was the Bucs defense that had no answer for the former Duke standout, who managed to throw for 336 yards and score four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) in the Giants’ 32-31 upset win over the Buccaneers.

Rams head coach Sean McVay and QB Jared Goff – Photo by: Getty Images

Now Tampa Bay travels on the road to face on of the best quarterbacks in the NFL with one of the best offensive coordinators in the league. This isn’t as second-year starter coming off of an ACL injury (Jimmy Garoppolo), and this isn’t a veteran quarterback coming off of shoulder surgery and a bad foot (Cam Newton). Los Angeles QB Jared Goff hasn’t exploded this season statistically through the first three games with 738 passing yards, four TDs and three INTs, but he has led the Rams to a 3-0 start with wins over the Panthers, Saints and Browns. And he’s coming off a Super Bowl appearance last year.

Goff is blessed to have a ton of weapons, both at receiver and running back, and of course his coach and coordinator, Sean McVay. Everywhere he turns there is teammate who can take the ball to the house, whether it be running back Todd Gurley, receivers Cooper Kupp and Brandin Cooks, plus a solid offensive line that can open holes or give Goff times to find his options down field. Add in a defense led by All-World defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and it is easy to see why most expect the Rams to get back to the Super Bowl in 2019, representing the NFC again.

So far this season, stopping team’s potent running games hasn’t been the issue for the Buccaneers. Instead, Tampa Bay’s pass defense is ranked 21st in the league, giving up an average of 290 yards per game. If the Bucs secondary let a rookie making his first start throw for over 300 yards – at Raymond James Stadium – imagine what Goff will do if Tampa Bay doesn’t get its mental errors and coverage breakdowns fixed on Sunday? It will be a long day and an even longer plane ride home to Tampa.

Trevor Sikkema: RB Todd Gurley

Everyone likes to talk about the passing game with Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams, but they fail to realize that their passing game is set up from their run game. The Rams’ offensive success did a lot of damage through the air in 2018, but it was made possible by how they utilized play-action and their zone rushing attack.

Last year, Rams running back Todd Gurley amassed 1,251 rushing yards, which was third-most in the NFL. He was able to accomplish this by being so effective when running behind zone blocking concepts. Gurley’s success on the ground allowed McVay to use deception via RPOs and play-action to open up the passing game and really shred defenses.

Rams RB Todd Gurley – Photo by: Getty Images

Though this game will be won in phases, the Bucs won’t be able to get to phases like stopping Jared Goff or the Rams receivers unless they stop Gurley first. That won’t stop the Rams from using play-action as a threat, but it will hinder how deceptive they can be – and McVay loves to be deceptive out of a select handful of formations, rather than making his playbook super thick with a vast array of individual looks.

Thankfully for Bucs fans, Tampa’s defense is coming off back-to-back stonewall performances against two of the best running backs in the league in Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley. McCaffrey’s 35 yards on 16 carries was the lowest rushing total of his NFL career, and before he got hurt, Barkley’s 10 yards on eight carries wasn’t looking any more promising for a full game.

The Bucs have to stop Gurley before they worry about stopping that passing attack. But they’ve shown so far they have the game plan to do it.

Matt Matera: Rams DT Aaron Donald

There’s no doubt that Aaron Donald is the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL. This will be the biggest test for Tampa Bay’s offensive line, and particularly right guard Alex Cappa, who is in his first year as a starter.

In a perfect world, the Bucs would like Ali Marpet, their best lineman, to handle Donald, but Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is a good game-planner and will have Donald in advantageous positions, such as lining up against the second-year pro in Cappa. There should be a lot of double teams towards Donald’s direction with the help of center Ryan Jensen.

Donald has only one sack on the season, but he’s coming off a career year with a personal best 20.5 sacks, so he can still dominate a game. In fact, the four-time All-Pro is due for that kind of game.

The Rams’ Aaron Donald has been a force since entering the NFL. – Photo by: Getty Images

As concerning as it is just to block the best defensive lineman in the game, the Bucs’ offensive line has had its own problems pass protecting. While the run game has improved, Tampa Bay hasn’t been able to keep Jameis Winston upright, allowing 10 sacks through three games, which is ranked 24th in the league.

Part of those sacks aren’t all on the offensive line. The coaches have worked with Jameis Winston to throw quicker passes, but we’ve seen him this year resort to hold onto the ball longer to prolong a play, leading to more sacks. Whether it’s fear of throwing an interception or keeping his eyes down field too long, Winston has hesitated when his first read isn’t there, and instead of throwing it away, he continues to keep looking until it’s too late.

Winston has had an up and down season so far, and there’s a fair share of blame on both him and the line for his 10 sacks, which is high number in just three games. But he can’t hold onto the ball for too long on with Donald chasing after him on Sunday. Sooner or later Donald will get to Winston if a play is taking a while to develop.

The Bucs offense needs to be in rhythm in order to keep up with the Rams high-powered offense. That means the number one priority is to stop Donald from causing absolute mayhem against a shaky Bucs’ O-line.

Taylor Jenkins: WR Brandin Cooks

Brandin Cooks could be in prime position to have a huge game against the Bucs’ defensive backs in Week 4. After allowing just 235.5 passing yards per game in Tampa Bay’s first two games of the 2019 season, the secondary struggled this past Sunday against the New York Giants, led by Daniel Jones who made the first start of his NFL career. Head coach Bruce Arians added that it was probably the unit’s worst game of the year when speaking to the media on Monday.

Despite holding Jones to just 123 passing yards in the first half, the rookie signal caller would end the game with 336 yards and two touchdowns through the air – both coming in the second half – en route to a come-from-behind victory that saw the Giants overcome an 18-point halftime deficit.

Rams WR Brandin Cooks – Photo by: Getty Images

Both Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram eclipsed 100 receiving yards on the day and the Bucs allowed three separate receivers to haul in catches of over 35 yards, something that can’t happen if Tampa Bay hopes to scrape out a victory against the Rams this week.

Cooks is a true downfield threat (averaging 17.3 yards per reception in 2019) who flourished in head coach Sean McVay’s offense last year, scoring six total touchdowns and setting a career-high with 1,204 receiving yards due to his legit 4.3 speed. If given time to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball downfield, Jared Goff could wreak havoc on the Bucs’ defensive backs, with Cooks being the primary benefactor.

With Vernon Hargreaves III and Carton Davis both having their fair share of issues in coverage this season, the young duo will already have their hands full with Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. A struggling secondary paired with a defense that likes to play tight, physical coverage near the line of scrimmage could spell disaster against the speedy pass-catcher, possibly allowing Cooks to build on his eight-catch, 112-yard performance in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns.