Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) @ Los Angeles Rams (8-2)
Sunday, November 23, 8:20 PM ET
How weird is it to say that this game is between Baker Mayfield and his old team? It’s easy to forget, because of how well Mayfield has played for the Bucs, that he spent a bit of time with both the Panthers and Rams. Wild times, right?
There is no ill will between Mayfield and the Rams, however. Quite the opposite, in fact. This will simply be an opportunity for Mayfield to go on the road and get his team back on track against one of the best teams (if not the best team) in the NFL right now. The Buccaneers have had a lot of injuries on the offensive side of the ball this season, but the offense didn’t seem to be the problem against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
That Bucs defense allowed Allen to account for a whopping six touchdowns, and the Rams have to be licking their chops to take advantage of the Bucs’ defensive struggles as well as their injuries on offense.
This is a Rams team that has absolutely feasted on the mistakes of their opponents this season, getting after the quarterback, forcing turnovers, and looking like a true Super Bowl contender. They just picked off Sam Darnold four times in a win, and the pass rush led by Jared Verse will be getting after Mayfield in this one.
Considering how solid the Bucs have been this year, it speaks volumes to what Vegas thinks of the Rams that they are 6.5-point favorites at home, and I think they can cover that.
Prediction: Rams win 33-24