2 years ago
24
ARTICLE AD BOX
Kendall Blanton scored the first of three touchdowns for the Rams, before the Bucs scored 24 unanswered points| Live coverage: Follow live text and in-play clips of the Buffalo Bills at the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday on the BBC Sport website and app. |
| Highlights: Watch NFL This Week from Tuesday on BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online. |
The Los Angeles Rams ended the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' hopes of back-to-back Super Bowl wins with a stunning victory in the NFL play-offs.
The Rams led 27-3 in the third quarter before seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady led a thrilling fightback.
The defending champions levelled with 42 seconds left but a field goal saw the Rams win it 30-27 at the death.
The first three games of the divisional round have all been won by the visitors with a field goal as time expired.
The Rams will now host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game next Sunday.
Last year the Bucs became the first team to play in a Super Bowl in their own stadium, and the Rams are now one win from repeating the feat as Super Bowl 56 will be staged at SoFi Stadium on 13 February.
- Live - Bills v Chiefs battle to reach AFC Championship game
- Grudge matches dominate in NFL divisional round
- Profiles and ones to watch for eight teams in NFL divisional round
Touchdowns by Kendall Blanton and Cooper Kupp helped the Rams charge into a 20-3 lead at half-time, before Matthew Stafford scored with a quarterback sneak.
The Rams' star-studded defence pressured Brady throughout but a touchdown by fit-again running back Leonard Fournette gave the Bucs hope as they trailed 27-13 heading into what proved to be a pulsating final quarter.
That hope looked to have gone when Von Miller recovered a strip sack on Brady, only for the Rams to give possession straight back to the Bucs with a snap that flew past Stafford.
Tampa Bay were unable to score on that possession but Brady later made a 55-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans, and just two plays after that, Ndamukong Suh hooked the ball from Cam Akers' grasp to get the ball back with 2:32 left.
Fournette, nicknamed 'Play-off Lenny', ran in his eighth touchdown in seven post-season games before the Bucs kicked the extra point to tie the score.
There was still time for the Rams but they almost turned the ball over again on the first play of the drive, with Stafford having to recover his own fumble.
But Stafford then made two huge plays to Kupp, the league's leading receiver this season, before spiking the ball to give Matt Gay the chance to redeem himself with a 30-yard field goal after missing from 47 yards just six minutes earlier.
English (US)