LOS ANGELES — The stars came out for the marquee game between the Bucs and Rams on Sunday.
Jason Sudeikis, Halsey, Mike Tyson, Kate Hudson, Rob Lowe and the Kardashians were among the sellout crowd packed into SoFi Stadium.
But the biggest celebrity in Hollywood today is Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Proving there’s no business like throw business, Stafford passed for 343 yards and four touchdowns in the Rams’ 34-24 win. The loss snapped a 10-game win streak for the defending Super Bowl champs dating to last season. And for the first time in 10 games, the Bucs failed to score at least 30 points.
Taking advantage of an injury-riddled secondary, Stafford showed off his arm and the Rams used their speed on offense.
The only question for the Bucs was whether they could find Richard Sherman in California and bring him back home to Tampa on the team plane.
Bucs quarterback Tom Brady traded blows with Stafford for a while. But the Rams began to tee off on the 44-year-old quarterback.
Already missing injured cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, the Bucs lost his backup, Jamel Dean, early in the game. With defensive backs such as Dee Delaney and Ross Cockrell chasing the Rams receivers, the Bucs never had a chance.
The Bucs trailed 14-7 at halftime in what was unexpectedly a low-scoring affair early.
The Rams defense and some poor field position stymied the Bucs and Brady, who had trouble getting any rhythm against an active pass rush. Brady finished 41-of-55 for 432 yards passing and a touchdown.
Stafford drew first blood, going 8-for-8 on a 95-yard drive that was capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to East Lake High’s Tyler Higbee.
The Bucs had a great answer to that drive. Brady connected with Mike Evans for 16 yards, then found Rob Gronkowski all alone for 26.
On first and goal from the Rams’ 2, Chris Godwin came in motion, took a handoff from Brady and cut back inside for the first rushing touchdown of his NFL career to tie the score at 7.
But the Rams weren’t done.
Stafford marched the Rams 75 yards in 10 plays, connecting with Cooper Kupp for his second touchdown of the half.
The Bucs had time to get into scoring range before the first half ended. But Brady was sacked and fumbled forward to Giovani Bernard. Because it was inside two minutes left in the half, the ball could not be advanced by anyone other than the player who fumbled.
Ryan Succop missed a 55-yard field goal to end the half, which would have been a career long had it been good.
The Rams made it 21-7 to start the second half.
On third and 10, DeSean Jackson put a double move on Carlton Davis and Mike Edwards was out of position. The play resulted in a 75-yard touchdown pass and Rams coach Sean McVay sprinted to the tunnel to greet Jackson.
Brady brought the Bucs right back. He connected with Evans for 20 yards and Gronkowski for 15. Then it was Evans for 11 more. Gronkowski, however, was belted in the back by Rams linebacker Terrell Lewis after a 6-yard catch and remained on the turf for several minutes before walking gingerly off the field.
Brate caught a 17-yard pass to set up Brady’s quarterback sneak from 1 yard for a touchdown. The play cut the Rams’ lead to 21-14.
The excitement was short lived.
Stafford went deep to Jackson again, this time for a 40-yard bomb.
That set up Stafford’s fourth touchdown pass, flipping a little 10-yarder to Kupp, his second score of the game.
