It was a Sunday night that went from bad to worse for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were dominated by the Los Angeles Rams in a 34-7 defeat and lost quarterback Baker Mayfield to a left shoulder sprain.
After a 5-1 start, Tampa Bay has lost four of five - and three straight - to drop into a first-place tie in the NFC South with 6-5 Carolina, which faces San Francisco on Monday night.
Over the past three games, the Bucs have given up 102 points and 1,183 yards to the opposition. The Rams' offense accounted for 333 yards on Sunday as Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes – two to Davante Adams.
"They outplayed us," Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said.
Of greater concern for Tampa Bay is the health of Mayfield, who sustained a left shoulder sprain and was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday, Bowles said.
Mayfield went into the medical tent after throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tez Johnson in the second quarter, holding his non-throwing shoulder.
Mayfield returned but aggravated the injury on a Hail Mary attempt that was intercepted by Emmanuel Forbes Jr. to end the half. After the play, Mayfield knelt while clutching his shoulder in obvious discomfort.
Backup Teddy Bridgewater came into the game on the first possession of the second half, and Mayfield was seen on the Tampa Bay sideline in street clothes with his left arm in a sling.
With Mayfield's status unknown, Bowles said he was confident with Bridgewater, a 10-year veteran who came out of retirement this season after spending a year coaching high school football in Miami.
“Very confident in what Teddy can do with a full week of practice, taking every snap and every play. We think he’ll be fine," Bowles said.”
Mayfield completed nine of 19 passes for 41 yards, the one TD and two interceptions, was sacked twice, and ran four times for 19 yards in the first half.
Bridgewater entered with the Bucs down 31-7 and managed just 70 net yards passing.
"Not the ideal situation to be in when they’ve got a big lead and they’ve got their ears pinned back every play," Bowles said. "But he performed well under pressure.”
Rams are the NFC's top seed after 12 weeks
Los Angeles won its sixth straight, moved into sole possession of the NFC West at 9-2 and sits as the conference’s top seed with six weeks remaining in the season.
ALSO READ: Allen has 3 TDs passing, 3 rushing to outduel Mayfield as Bills beat Bucs, 44-32
Stafford, who completed 25 of 35 for 273 yards, polished his MVP credentials with another stellar performance while extending his streak to 308 pass attempts without an interception — only the NFL's eighth such streak with at least 300 attempts in the 21st century.
"It was an embarrassing performance all around," Bucs linebacker Lavonte David said. "We can't have football games like this if we want to be the team we want to be."
The Rams' defense also shined, allowing just 123 yards in the first three quarters on the night when the team honored Aaron Donald, who retired in March 2024 after 10 superb seasons on the team's defensive line.
Jared Verse and Kobie Turner had two sacks apiece for the Rams, who haven't lost since Oct. 2 and haven't trailed since the second quarter of a win over Baltimore in Week 6.
Puka Nacua had seven catches for 97 yards, while Adams boosted his NFL lead to 12 touchdown receptions, including nine in the Rams' last five games. New kicker Harrison Mevis also made his first two NFL field goal attempts.
Rams take a big early lead
Adams capped the Rams' 80-yard opening drive with a 1-yard catch, his eighth straight scoring grab that covered fewer than 5 yards over the last five games.
Less than three minutes later, Durant ripped the ball away from a juggling Cade Otton and returned it for his second career TD, with Kam Kinchens blocking Mayfield near the goal line to finish it.
"I didn't focus enough and tried to run before I made the catch," Otton said of his bobble. "A huge play that turned the game."
Stafford completed his first 12 passes into the second quarter before hitting Colby Parkinson for a 5-yard TD.
ALSO READ: Buccaneers still trying to figure out how to go from being a good team to a great one
"Obviously, the big plays on defense, the three or four plays, the pick-6 when the ball bounces off," Bowles said. "Once you get off to a slow start that way against a team like that that's great within their own right, its hard to play catch-up in that aspect."
Down 21-0, Mayfield and the Bucs finally answered with a drive ending in Johnson's 14-yard TD catch. Los Angeles needed just four plays to score again, with Adams getting loose for a 24-yard TD.
Tampa Bay returns home to host the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m. Sunday. At halftime, Simeon Rice will become the 16th member of the Bucs Ring of Honor.
"We got a bad taste in our mouth the last two weeks, and we should be," Bowles said. "We come home for a three-game homestand. Everything we need to do is right in front of us, and we've got a lot of work to do."
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.