A dominant first half on both sides of the ball helped the Rams cruise victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football. Quarterback Matthew Stafford continued his MVP-caliber season with 273 yards and three scores, while the defense created two turnovers and bombarded both Buccaneers quarterbacks who played in this game.
Here are five interesting stats from the Rams' 34-7 Week 12 win over Tampa Bay.
The Rams' 31 first-half points are tied for the second-most in the Sean McVay era (since 2017), according to nflverse data
It feels like the Rams find new ways to win every week. On Sunday, it was an onslaught of passes in the first half that led to a 31-7 lead heading into the break. The Rams threw the ball on 82.8% of their plays in the first half, according to nflverse data, as Stafford totaled 210 yards and threw all three of his touchdowns in the first 30 game minutes.
The Rams allowed -0.9 expected points added (EPA) per pass attempt, the second-lowest in any game this season, according to Next Gen Stats
That means that every time the Bucs dropped back to pass, which they did 38 times, it took an average of 0.9 expected points off the board, totaling 34.2 expected points lost on pass plays compared to what the average team would achieve. The Rams allowed a lower EPA per pass attempt than the Broncos in Week 6 against the Jets, who totaled -10 net passing yards. The Rams allowed just 70 on Sunday night, which is tied for the sixth-fewest in a game this year.
Their two interceptions, including a pick-six, and four sacks contributed to that success. The Rams have intercepted at least one pass in four-straight games and have come away with six in their last two contests.
Emmanuel Forbes Jr. didn't allow a single catch on seven targets, the most targets without allowing a reception since Week 12, 2022, according to Next Gen Stats
Forbes recorded a career-high five passes defensed in the win, and is now tied for third in the NFL with 13 on the season. Forbes also caught an interception on a hail mary attempt at the end of the first half, his third in the past four weeks. Forbes is emerging as one of the better corners in the league this season less than a year after he was waived by the Washington Commanders.
Stafford's 12-straight completions to start the game are the third-most among quarterbacks this season and ties Stafford's career-high, according to nflverse data
Stafford has completed exactly 12-straight passes to start a game four separate times now, and three of them have been with the Rams. On the opening drive, he completed eight-straight passes for 89 yards and capped it off with a one-yard score to wide receiver Davante Adams, who said Stafford is playing "like the most valuable player in the league."
"Today it was early (I felt like I was in the zone)," Stafford said postgame. "Sometimes it takes a minute to get into it, but today felt good. I thought Sean did a hell of a job kind of dialing it up for us early on and we were able to go put the pedal to the metal."
The Buccaneers' 25% pressure rate was their lowest of the season, according to Next Gen Stats
Stafford completed 22 of 27 attempts from a clean pocket for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He was only pressured on nine of his 36 dropbacks on Sunday, his fourth-lowest rate of the season, but his 2.79 average seconds to throw was his third-slowest of the season. So, although he took longer to get rid of the ball than usual, the Rams' protection held up exceptionally well.
