INGLEWOOD, California — The Los Angeles Rams extended their winning streak underneath the bright lights of ‘Sunday Night Football.’
The Rams earned their sixth straight victory after they trounced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34-7, on Sunday night. LA got off to a fast 14-0 lead after a cornerback Cobie Durant’s pick-six in the first quarter.
It didn’t end there. The prime-time contest was out of reach by halftime: Los Angeles extended its advantage to 31-7 in a dominant first half.
USA TODAY Sports was on site at SoFi Stadium for the Week 12 “Sunday Night Football” matchup. Here are the winners and losers from the prime-time battle.
Winner: Matthew Stafford (and his MVP case)
Stafford completed his first 12 passes against a helpless Bucs defense to begin the game.
The veteran quarterback tossed three touchdown passes in what was a superb first half.
Stafford went 25-of-35 passing 273 yards and had three touchdown passes, resulting in a 122.7 passer rating.
Stafford joined Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers as the only players in NFL history with at least 30 touchdown passes and five-or-fewer interceptions in their team’s first 11 games of a season.
Stafford has an NFL-best 30 touchdown passes this season. He’s making a strong case for NFL MVP.
Winner: Daily Double Davante Adams
Adams caught two touchdowns to give him an NFL-high 12 touchdown receptions this season. The veteran wideout’s first touchdown came on a short fade route to punctuate the Rams’ opening touchdown drive.
His second TD was on a came on a 24-yard go route where he juked Bucs CB Zyon McCollum at the line of scrimmage.
Adams compiled five catches, 62 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Winner: Cobie, Kobie and Co.
Durant recorded his second interception in as many weeks. The Rams cornerback snatched the football away from Bucs tight end Cade Otton as he struggled to gain possession.
Durant followed it up by running 50 yards for the pick-six. The highlight-reel turnover gave the Rams a 14-0 first-quarter advantage.
The Rams defense held the Bucs to 109 total yards and seven points in the first half.
Edge rusher Jared Verse produced four tackles and two sacks. Defensive lineman Kobie Turner tallied six tackles and two sacks.
Winner: Snapping an LA playoff picture
The Rams have now won six-straight games, the longest active winning streak in the NFC.
Sunday’s night’s victory moved the Rams to the top seed in the NFC after Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 12 loss.
The Rams joined the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos as the only teams in the league with just two losses entering Week 13.
Winner: Aaron Donald (and bobblehead collectors)
The Rams dubbed Sunday night’s contest the “Aaron Donald Celebration” game. The franchise honored Donald, one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, at halftime.
The first 60,000 fans in attendance received a Donald “GOAT Bobblehead.’
Winner: The … Carolina Panthers?
The upstart Panthers (6-5) have a chance to end Week 12 in first place of the NFC South with a win Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers.
Loser: The first-half Buccaneers
The Bucs performed as if they were still in Tampa Bay in the first half. They trailed 21-0 before fans were able to get comfortable in their seats at SoFi Stadium. The game was pretty much over at the at the halftime break.
The Bucs were outgained 109 to 224 in total yards and had two giveaways in the first half.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield injured his left shoulder in the first half and didn’t return to the game after halftime.
Loser: The Buccaneers’ offensive offense
The Bucs tight end bobbled what should’ve been a routine catch in the first quarter. To make matters worse, Rams CB Cobie Durant took the loose football from Otton and ran 50 yards down the field for a pick-six.
Tampa Bay’s offense had a difficult time sustaining drives. The Bucs offense only had one drive of over 60 yards.
The Bucs had 193 total yards in the loss.
Loser: Tampa Bay’s leaky-ship defense
The Bucs defense had no answers for the Rams offense, especially in the first half. The Rams offense had three touchdown drives in the first half, and another possession that ended in a field goal.
Tampa Bay’s defense gave up four scoring drives and 224 total yards in the first half. Every drive for the Rams ended in points in the first two quarters.
The Bucs defense gave up 333 total yards.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
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