Austin Davis, the Rams quarterback, had quite a day making his NFL start. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were more prepared for this backup quarterback than last week against Derek Anderson. This game had everything from a weather delay, key injuries, and a crazy finish. This game had that and a combination of other things. First, Doug Martin was ruled out for this game as were Michael Johnson and Adrian Clayborn.

Bobby Rainey would be the starting running back for the Bucs in front of Mike James. Also, Jeff Tedford, the offensive coordinator, was back and calling the plays from the booth. He has undergone heart surgery and was not been medically cleared until days before the game. Coming into this game, the St.Louis Rams had not won an a road opener in 12 years. That streak was snapped today by beating the Buccaneers 19-17.

The Buccaneers received the ball first to start the game. They drove all the way down the field and got a touchdown on a Josh McCown rushing touchdown. McCown ran for five yards on the touchdown. One of the good things about McCown is his ability to use the legs when he has to. It is an advantage that many people do not think of when they talk about his game.

The Rams would score a touchdown on a run by Zac Stacy on the ensuing possession. This made the game seven to seven with three minutes left in the first quarter. A key note in the first quarter is the injury to Gerald McCoy. McCoy would not return to the game after injuring his hand. It became clear from that moment, that the Bucs defense missed him. 

In the second quarter, there really was not much to show for both offenses. In fact, there was not really much to say about the quarter. The most exciting part was the 60 minute weather delay. The pregame notes had mentioned about the possibility of a weather delay and at the start of the game, there was a 60 percent chance of rain. The forecasters were correct with the game having an hour rain and lightning delay. The Rams did, however, get a Greg Zuerlein 36 yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the half. You could say that was a key moment in this game with the injury to Mason Foster, the Buccaneers linebacker. Foster is the play caller of the defense to set them up against the opposing offenses.

The third quarter had more offensive production from both teams. The Rams were driving after receiving the kickoff, but Tampa Bay safety Dashon Goldson recovered a fumble by Zac Stacy. The Buccaneers would not score after recovering the fumble. They would, however, score with about nine minutes remaining in the quarter.

That score came, once again, from a Josh McCown scramble. This one was a one yard touchdown run that gave the Buccaneers a 14-10 lead. That was McCown's fourth career rushing touchdown against the Rams, as reported by Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Auman also said, "Bucs say with 2 rush TDs today, McCown has 4 for career vs. Rams. Only QBs with more are Steve Young (6) and Tobin Rote, w/ 5 from 1950-58". 

Greg Zuerlein would kick a 35 yard field goal with less than three minutes remaining to make it a 14-13 lead for Tampa Bay. The ensuing kickoff was taken by Chris Owusu and he returned it 45 yards. Another 15 yards were tacked on when the Rams were called for a facemask penalty. That return was the longest for the Bucs since 2012.

Here is where things got ugly for the Bucs. They did not do much offensively on that drive and relied on rookie kicker Patrick Murray. This was to be Murray's first kick in NFL career, but his kick was blocked. That block would eventually lead to a Greg Zuerlein field goal giving the Rams a one point lead with about nine minutes left.

The Bucs would call on Patrick Murray again. This time he delivered and put the Bucs back on top at 17-16 with about 5 minutes remaining. The Rams would drive from the Rams eight yard line all the way to the Bucs 38 yard line. This set up a 38 yard field goal by Greg Zuerlien, which wound up being the game winning field goal.

This game had a wild finish though. The Bucs were running out of time and did not have any timeouts left. With about ten seconds remaining Josh McCown threw it down field to Mike Evans who caught it at the Rams 32 yard line. Evans was still on the ground after the catch in pain. However, since the Bucs were out of timeouts, the ten second rule was in effect, which ended the games as only eight seconds remained on the clock.

Josh McCown was 16 for 21 with 179 yards two rushing touchdowns and one interception. Austin Davis went 22 of 29 with 235 yards thrown. Despite not having Doug Martin available, Bobby Rainey stepped up. He had his third career game 100 yards or more by finishing with 144 yards on 22 carries.

The Buccaneers (0-2) did look better on Sunday than they did against the Carolina Panthers last week. They play Thursday night at Atlanta (1-1). St Louis (1-1) faces Dallas (1-1) next week.