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GameDay Tampa Bay

November 23rd, 2025

Game 11

Bucs (6-4) at Rams (8-2)

Kickoff: 8:20 p.m.

TV: NBC (WFLA-TV Channel 8, locally). Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark.

Streaming: Peacock, NFL+. (Geographic restrictions may apply; subscription may be required).

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network WXTB-FM 97.9 in the Tampa-St. Petersburg region (Transmisiones de radio en español en WTMP-FM 96.1 y WMGG-AM 1470 en Tampa). Additional stations throughout Florida on the Buccaneers Radio Network can be found here. The game will also be broadcast on SiriusXM Channel 226 (Buccaneers Radio Network feed). The Westwood One Radio network broadcast will also be available on SiriusXM NFL Radio Channel 88.

Weather: Jacket weather in Los Angeles, so say the good folks of AccuWeather.com. (Joe has never been to California where he didn’t need a jacket or a coat. This weekend continues that trend. So much for all the hype about such “beautiful” California weather.) Today, tailgaters will enjoy temperatures in the high 60s under sunny skies. By the time kickoff occurs, it will sink to 64 degrees. Caution for fans who haven’t been to SoFi Stadium: It is not a dome but does have a roof. It is an outdoor stadium with a giant canopy for a roof. So don’t make the mistake of thinking you are walking into a nice warm dome because it is not.  When the game ends, it should be right at 60 degrees.

Odds: Per Hard Rock Bet, as of Saturday, Bucs +7 (-115); over/under 49.5 (-110); moneyline +260.

Referees: Clay Martin and his gang will work tonight’s Bucs-Rams game. Here is the lowdown on Martin’s outfit from Sharp Football Analysis: League-wide, offensive penalties account for 47.3 percent of flags in 2025. Martin’s crew has 53 percent of overall penalties on the offense, second-most in the league. … An above-average 45 percent of Martin’s penalties are pre-snap infractions and lead the league in calling illegal formation penalties. …  No crew has called false start/offensive holding at a higher percentage than Martin’s outfit in recent seasons. While they don’t lead the NFL in this category in 2025, they’re still above-average 40.5 percent of overall penalties. … The Rams are the least penalized team in the NFL.

Injuries:

(The NFL does not include players on injury reports who are not on a team’s active 53-man roster. Players on injured reserve or the practice squad are not on a team’s active 53-man roster.)

Outlook: Diana Russini of The Athletic reported yesterday that Bucs receiver Chris Godwin will play tonight, so that is both good news and helpful. Joe is otherwise very down on the Bucs after what he witnessed last week. The defense is terrible. Guys cannot cover. The defensive coordinator who doesn’t care about an edge rush is now reaping what he sowed. For years Joe has beat the drum that fundamental defense should be priority No. 1 followed by takeaways. The defensive coordinator stresses takeaways. The Bucs got that last week with three takeaways but look what happened: the defense still coughed up 44 points with trash defensive play. And then the head coach last week decided to chug a Slurpee at the worst time halfway through the fourth quarter. It has happened several times before. Joe thought the Bucs were past this but apparently not. So it will happen again in a close game. Without their best cornerback, Jamel Dean, Joe just does not see how the Bucs can win this game against maybe the hottest team in the NFL against a coach who usually exposes a Todd Bowles’ defense, not that others haven’t done the same this year already. Yeah, seeing the Bucs allow 10 touchdowns in the past two games on an average of 33 yards a play and the head coach dropping the ball when everyone watching the game knew he shouldn’t have given Buffalo the ball back down by five with seven minutes left has Joe sour. The passing game of the Bucs offense, which has predictably gone south because a rookie should not be a No. 1 receiver, has been neutered with injuries. At least the Bucs can run the ball. The way Joe looks at it, the Bucs are going to have to play just about a perfect game tonight and the Rams are going to have to play a terrible game. Is it possible? Sure. But Joe’s not dropping a nickel on that happening. Joe apologizes for being so down, but the Bucs’ defense has made Joe this way. Joe’s pretty confident other Bucs fans see the team in the same way that Joe does. Let’s get this team healthy again and maybe there is a prayer.

Fun facts: Since the bye, the Bucs’ defense has given up 10 touchdowns. The average distance from scrimmage for those touchdowns has been 33 yards. … Bucs QB Baker Mayfield has a touchdown pass in all but one of his last 10 games. …  RB Sean Tucker had a career-high three-touchdown game last week. He’s looking for his third straight road game with a touchdown. … WR Emeka Egbuka ranks first among rookies in receiving touchdowns (6) and second in receiving yards (717). … (Joe would normally type something about the defensive line or outside linebackers right here but they stayed home last week and apparently extended their bye week by two more weeks. Will they decide to come to work tonight or will they still be on vacation?) …  ILB SirVocea Dennis had four tackles and a pick in Buffalo. The pick was nice but four tackles for an inside linebacker against a running quarterback? … CB Jacob Parrish had his first pick last week and is tied for third (7) among rookies in tackles for loss. … Rams QB Matt Stafford leads the NFL entering this weekend leading the NFL in touchdown passes (27) against just two interceptions. … RB Kyren Williams has at least 50 yards from scrimmage in 38 straight games. … WR Davante Adams caught his 1,000th career pass last week and caught his 10th touchdown pass this year. Adams is the third-fastest player (174 games) in NFL history to reach 1,000 career catches and is the fifth player in NFL history with at least 10 touchdown catches in seven or more seasons. … LB Nate Landman has a forced fumble in three straight games. … CB Emmanuel Forbes has a pick in two of his last three games. … S Kamren Kinchens had two picks last week. He has a fumble recovery in two of his past three games.

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