The 6-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers land in prime time again in Week 12 as they prepare to take on the 8-2 Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday Night Football. The Rams moved into first place in the loaded NFC West with their showdown win over Seattle in Week 11, their fifth victory in a row. The Bucs remain in first in the NFC South, as well, but have lost three of their last four. A national audience will watch the Bucs and Rams battle it out in a key NFC meeting on Sunday, November 23, with kickoff scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.
The Bucs will be trying to snap a two-game losing streak, as they ran into the top teams in the AFC East and dropped a 28-23 decision to New England and a 44-32 shootout in Buffalo in which the lead changed hands nine times. Sean Tucker continues to emerge as a new threat in the rushing attack, accounting for 140 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns against Buffalo, as the Bucs posted a season-best 202 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, the Bucs have forced eight turnovers in their last three games but the defense has been plagued by big plays, including three touchdowns of 25 or more yards against the Bills. Tykee Smith continues to emerge as one of the NFL's most productive safeties and he had two critical pass breakups in Buffalo, including one that led to a SirVocea Dennis interception.
The Rams are somehow getting a career year out of Matthew Stafford in the 17th season of his Hall of Fame-worthy career. Stafford's 112.8 passer rating would establish a new career high, and his 27-2 touchdown-interception ratio looks like a typo. The talented veteran passer is making the most of one of the league's most dangerous receiving duos in Puka Nacua (third in the NFL in receptions) and Davante Adams (first in touchdown receptions). Sean McVay has explored some new wrinkles in his play-calling in 2025, most notably a much higher use of three-tight end packages than at any other point in his tenure with the Rams. The Los Angeles defense may not get as much attention compared to Stafford and company, but it ranks second in the league in points allowed (17.2 per game) and features an impactful edge rush duo in Byron Young and Jared Verse, who have combined for 13 sacks and 73 quarterback pressures.
Here are four major storylines and four head-to-head player battles to keep an eye on in Week 12as the Bucs try to make their mark in the NFC playoff race against a red-hot opponent.
TOP STORYLINES
Significant Playoff Implications – The NFL's decision to put the Buccaneers and Rams in the Sunday night spotlight in Week 12 is looking like a good one, as it could be considered the most significant game of the weekend in regards to the overall NFC playoff field. It is the only game of the day that pits two NFC teams with winning records against each other, though the 6-5 Panthers and 7-3 49ers will also meet on Monday night. The Rams have risen all the way to the number-two seed in the NFC playoff field and are tied for the conference's best record. If Dallas helps out the rest of the conference with a win over rival Philadelphia on Sunday, the Rams will have an opportunity to move into the driver's seat for the number-one seed and the first-round bye. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are not only trying to get back in that conversation but also hold off the Panthers in what has become a tight NFC South race. The Buccaneers' two recent losses were obviously not helpful to that cause, but it's worth noting that they were against AFC teams and thus aren't as costly in terms of tiebreakers as a loss to the Rams would be. The Buccaneers and Rams currently have similar intra-conference records at 4-2 and 3-2, respectively, and only the Eagles have lost fewer games to NFC opponents. And all of this will play out in front of that national audience, which means it will impact not only the cold, hard standings but also the perception of where these two teams stand as true contenders.
A Key Takeaway – Both the Buccaneers and Rams have been winning the turnover battle handily this season, though it has obviously translated into a couple more wins for Los Angeles than it has for Tampa Bay, which just lost at Buffalo despite a 3-2 edge in turnovers. Los Angeles ranks second in turnover ratio so far this season at plus-10, while the Bucs are third at plus-nine. The Rams 18 takeaways overall are tied for the second most in the league, while the Bucs are tied for fifth with 16. Both teams have also protected the ball well, with the Bucs tied for the fourth fewest turnovers at seven and the Rams in seventh with eight giveaways. Twice in the shootout loss to Buffalo, the Buccaneer took the lead on the scoreboard with a short scoring drive following a turnover. The Rams' defense picked off Seattle's Sam Darnold four times in last Sunday's showdown, which proved to be the difference in the game. Two of those picks set up touchdown "drives" of three and 25 yards, in a game that Los Angeles won by just two points. Given these team's trends this season, turnovers may be tough to come by on Sunday night, but if either team does break through in that category, it will probably determine the game's outcome.
Secondary Challenge – The Buccaneers could be without cornerback Jamel Dean on Sunday night after he suffered a hip injury early in the Bills game, which is bad timing given that he leads all NFL defensive backs in passer rating allowed when targeted. That sort of secondary weapon would be valuable when the Bucs have to face the aforementioned Nacua-Adams duo. If Dean can't play, rookie Benjamin Morrison would likely join Zyon McCollum as the two outside corners, as he did for most of the Buffalo contest. Nacua is a high-volume receiver who has caught 83.9% of his targets this season, the best rate of any wide receiver in the NFL, and he never shies away from contact. Adams is a red zone master, with his 10 touchdowns so far this season pushing his career total to 113, the eighth-most in NFL history. The Buccaneers have gotten some strong contributions from their secondary this season, not only from Dean but also from former All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., second-year safety Tykee Smith and rookie slot corner Jacob Parrish. The flip side of that coin is that the defense has been plagued by big plays in the last two weeks, including four touchdown passes of 25 or more yards. Stafford, Nacua and Adams are certainly capable of generating big plays in bunches, particularly if the Buccaneers' fail to put consistent pressure on the quarterback.
More Ingredients for Baker? – The Buccaneers scored 65 points and averaged 370 net yards in its two recent losses but the offense still hasn't quite found the groove it was in for much of the 2024 season. Most of that can be attributed to injuries, which have variously hit the offensive line, the receiving corps and the running back stable hard. Right tackle Luke Goedeke recently returned to help pump up the team's rushing attack, but the extended absences for wide receiver Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving have continued. However, both Godwin and Irving started practicing last week, albeit in limited fashion, and may ramp up their activity this week. It's not certain that either will return in time to face the Rams but how that unfolds will definitely be the top storylines of the week. If the Bucs could get either Godwin or Irving back into the mix, it would significantly improve Mayfield's chances of putting up big numbers on the scoreboard. Godwin, in particular, would make a difference given that opposing defenses have started to become very focused on limiting rookie Emeka Egbuka's output.