INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Rams dismantled the Buccaneers on both sides of the ball in Week 12. In front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football, the Rams' defense picked up four sacks and two interceptions (including a pick-six), while quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for three scores and led the Los Angeles offense to 333 total yards in a 34-7 victory over Tampa Bay. 31 of those points were scored in the first half.
After the game, Rams head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford, cornerback Cobie Durant, defensive end Kobie Turner and wide receiver Davante Adams spoke with local media about the win over Tampa Bay. Here are the most significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences.
"We've really been talking about starting fast and finishing strong and when we get leads like that, you are kind of playing up against the clock. But I thought we had total control and command of the football game in the first half." - McVay
A 31-7 lead heading into the second-half kick, which the Rams were to receive, would tend to put that team in command of the game. Still, McVay said they wanted to have better momentum offensively going into the second half, as they only scored three points thereafter, but he was happy with the fast start. "I love the way these guys are starting and we gotta continue that because we all know that humility is only a week or a day away," he said.
McVay said the defense "is getting better and better," adding that the defensive game plans by defensive coordinator Chris Shula and the staff are highlighting the skills of the players. On Stafford's streak of 27 touchdowns without an interception, McVay said, "I think he's making great decisions, I think he's got great rapport with his skill players, I think he's seeing the field really well and I think he's understanding, 'Where are those times and places (to take shots)?'"
"Today it was early (I felt like I was in the zone). 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." - Stafford
After starting eight-for-eight on the opening touchdown drive, it would be hard to imagine Stafford wasn't feeling it early. He said he's playing with confidence and enjoying playing with this Rams team. Still, "I feel like I gotta go earn (confidence) every single week," Stafford said. "... I still live and die with practices sometimes." His drive to compete is constant and his failures, even in practice, drive him to be better every day.
Stafford said it's "a decision every time" he has the ball whether to put it in harm's way or not. He's trying to find the balance between giving the Rams' playmakers opportunities without taking unnecessary chances, and he's succeeding at it. Stafford did hear the home crowd chanting "MVP" during the game. When asked about it, he said, "That was cool. That was awesome. That was a great atmosphere out there today," adding that the noise made it tough on the Buccaneers.
"If I want (the ball), I'ma get it. I seen him bobbling it and I immediately in my mind, I'm like, 'I'm finna take this ball.'" - Durant
And take it, he did. Durant stole a pick out of the hands of Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton and then returned it 50 yards to the house to put the Rams up two scores in the first quarter. On his way to the end zone, he saw quarterback Baker Mayfield trying to track him down and thought, "I can't get tackled by Baker." So, he slowed up and let cornerback Josh Wallace get in front of him to throw and block so he could jog into the end zone.
What he didn't see was Stafford doing his "Landshark" pose, an ode to his nickname, on the sideline in celebration. He was thrilled to find out from a reporter postgame, saying "that's awesome." Durant's pick-six was "a good momentum shift," he said, and praised the defensive line for "making our life easy on the back end" by getting pressure on the quarterback.
"I'm having the most fun playing that I've ever had... It's hard to put your finger exactly on what makes it feel like that, but it's just one of those teams where we just have a lot of fun together. You can see from the celebrations to the intense moments out there, it's just one of those teams where we find a way to really enjoy (it)." - Adams
Catching touchdowns is also fun for Adams, and he's caught the most in the NFL now with 12 after his two on Sunday. His second came on a 24-yard go ball where Adams beat his man off the line and wasn't the first read on the play, he said, adding that they had a similar rep during the week where Stafford didn't see him, but afterward he looked at the video board and saw that Adams won off the line, just like he did to Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum.
"Poor kid," Adams said. "He just was the one in the way today and it wasn't anything personal, it's just the way it gotta go." After the touchdown, Adams ran into the tunnel and joked that he "made it to the 405 (freeway)." He added said that Stafford is playing "like the most valuable player in the league."
"Could not be prouder of our front. I can't have two sacks unless the rest of the guys are doing their job. We can't have the individual success that we have unless the rest of the team is doing it." - Turner
This defense believes they are "the best in the world," Turner said, and they go out and put in the work every week so they can prove it on the big stage. That's exactly what they did on Sunday, holding Tampa Bay to 193 total yards. To have that performance in front of his former running mate and Rams legend Aaron Donald was "special" because of what he means to the organization and to the defensive line in particular.
"To be able to pick up where he left off and to try to be as fearsome as a front as we can be... it means a lot." He was able to speak with Donald briefly before the game and tell him they would "go out and get it done today," and then fulfilled that promise both individually and as a collective defense.
