SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 23, 2012
Rams 28, Buccaneers 13: Sam Bradford threw a pair of touchdown passes less than four minutes apart early in the third quarter to power visiting St. Louis, which was was ousted from postseason contention.
Bradford threw for 196 yards and had scoring passes of 80 yards to Lance Kendricks and 5 to Austin Pettis as the Rams (7-7-1) sent reeling Tampa Bay to its fifth consecutive defeat.
Steven Jackson added a 5-yard touchdown run and St. Louis intercepted four passes to secure its fourth win in five games and earn a shot at its first winning season in nine years.
Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman threw for 372 yards but was sacked five times and picked off four times for the second consecutive week. Mike Williams hauled in a 61-yard scoring strike in defeat for Tampa Bay (6-9).
An interception by James Laurinaitis led to Jackson's touchdown run with 32 seconds left in the half for a 14-6 lead. Trumaine Johnson's interception set up the scoring toss to Pettis for a 28-6 lead with 10:47 left in the third quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jenkins' interception was the third he has returned for a touchdown and his fourth score overall. ... Freeman's TD pass to Williams was the 77th of his career, tying Vinny Testaverde for the franchise record. ... Bradford's 80-yard scoring strike to Kendricks was the longest of his career and of the season for St. Louis.