NFL Playoffs – Tampa Bay and Tom Brady eliminated by the Rams after a completely crazy match (27-30)

Unbelievable. The NFL has no equal in delivering mind-boggling scenarios. Especially in the playoffs. Alfred Hitchcock was still around Sunday, in Florida. For the third time in three matches this weekend, it all came down to a last-second field goal. And as with Green Bay and Tennessee on Saturday, it was the home team that fell. The Los Angeles Rams came to snatch victory on the wire at Raymond James Stadium (27-30) on a kick from their kicker Matt Gay, depriving Tampa Bay and Tom Brady of an extension that the Bucs thought they would snatch with a hard fight .

The best team won, but the least we can say is that the Rams complicated their lives and could have avoided all those cold sweats. With an effective Matt Stafford at the head of the attack, Sean McVay’s men quickly took the lead in scoring with two passing touchdowns for Kendall Blanton and especially Cooper Kupp on an action from 70 yards.

Opposite, it was not the same music. Harassed by the defense of LA, Tom Brady has long lived a nightmare. At halftime, the defending champion was down 20-3 and, without a loss of the ball one yard from the “end zone” at the very end of the second quarter, the addition could have been even more salty.

With Brady, the miracle is always possible

When it resumed, Tampa’s affairs did not improve. Still in the grip of the opposing pass rush, with a martyred offensive line, Brady could do nothing. And when Stafford added another touchdown, this time on the run, to make it 27-3 midway through the third quarter, everyone at Raymond James Stadium realized that only a miracle could save his Bucs. get out. But in terms of miracles, US football offers an unrivaled range of possibilities. Especially when Tom Brady is in on it.

Tampa first scored 10 points in the space of three minutes to bring the score to 13-27 at the start of the last quarter. By returning to two possessions, Bruce Arians players could believe it again. Problem, three minutes and a half from the end, and without time out to allow the Buccaneers to stop the clock, the scoreboard had not moved. This is when Tom Brady chose to send a bombshell to his number one receiver, Mike Evans, who got the better of Jalen Ramsey. With this touchdown from 55 yards, Tampa Bay came back to life (20-27).

An incredible end

Then madness took hold of the Florida enclosure when, on their next possession, the Rams lost the ball on a fumble. It was playing with fire. Brady was going to burn them. Or rather Leonard Fournette. On a fourth attempt at double or quits, the running back found the promised land to put the two teams tied 42 seconds from the end of the match. A miracle, one more. If Tampa had won in overtime, it would have been one of the most sensational victories of Tom Brady’s career, which is saying something. But Tampa didn’t win. And there was no extension.

Taking advantage of these few tens of seconds of the last quarter, Stafford delivered two assists for Cooper Kupp. 20 yards, then 44, to put the Rams in position to score the winning field goal after an incredible final. Kupp, author of a monstrous season, finished this game with 183 yards and 9 receptions.

The NFL, a formidable carousel with incomparable sensations, has once again taken the roller coaster out of its box of tricks to offer a legendary evening. Speaking of legend, now remains a question that will haunt all of Tampa in the coming weeks: will we see Tom Brady on the field again, when rumors of retirement begin to circulate around the 44-year-old quarterback?