Dhe defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers around NFL superstar Tom Brady failed in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams. In front of their own fans, the Bucs conceded a dramatic 27:30 on Sunday (local time). After being 24 points behind, the Buccaneers had leveled the game with less than a minute left before the Rams pulled the football game to their side with a converted field goal when the clock was running out.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We let them come back into play with mistakes in attack. The defense did a great job,” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford told NBC. “I’m glad we’re through.”
While the Rams can continue to dream of the Super Bowl in their own stadium and first have to win in the conference final against the San Francisco 49ers, the defeat was possibly the last NFL game in Brady’s career. The most successful quarterback in NFL history with seven Super Bowl victories recently left open whether he will still play football in the coming season. He will be 45 in the summer.
Dramatic final phase
The Buccaneers got up to speed late in the divisional round and unexpectedly made the game exciting with the points to 20:27 four minutes before the end. At half time, the hosts had only booked the three points through a field goal and were already 17 points behind. The Rams’ strong defense left Brady little time for throws – and when a ball did get to his teammates, they dropped it far too often unnecessarily. However, a wild window of turnovers by both sides woke the crowd in Tampa and brought the Buccaneers back into the game emotionally. But it wasn’t enough for the sensation anymore.
