Close-up of two football players talking intensely on the field after a game; one wears a Rams uniform with a blue cap and the other wears a red cap and gray hoodie, with their hands resting on each other's chests.Matthew Stafford (L) and Baker Mayfield following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 34-7 loss at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Nov. 23, 2025. Credit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Phew. It’s been a while since Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans have dealt with one of these types of games and stretches. 

Baker Mayfield & co. now have three straight losses, each more discouraging than the last. 

Sunday night brought possibly one of the worst performances put out by the pewter pirates in quite some time, and they picked a heck of a time to do it, as they showed off their ineptitude in front of a national audience on NBC. 

While the Bucs may have wanted to escape from L.A. with a victory, the Rams had other plans, as they jumped out to a 31-7 lead by halftime, with the game mercifully ending with a 34-7 loss for Tampa Bay. 

Mayfield looked out of sync and out of rhythm, as the offense put up a whopping 41 yards passing in the first half. 

He eventually had to exit the game with a shoulder injury, giving an already painful day an even bigger problem moving forward as the Bucs cling to a shrinking NFC South lead. 

In sharp contrast to the sloppy sequence of events the Bucs called an offensive gameplan, Los Angeles veteran QB Matthew Stafford racked up over 200 yards of passing on his way to what could be an MVP-caliber season. 

Making things worse, Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum looked like he was in La La Land trying to cover future Hall of Famer Davante Adams. The former Fresno State man had a pair of touchdown receptions, both with the recently extended corner getting burnt on the veteran’s savvy and suave routes. 

The Bucs found out what it means To Live and Die in L.A., as they struggled mightily across the board, with problems even extending to special teams. 

Tampa Bay punter Riley Dixon had a funny (but also not funny, kind of sad really) 23-yard punt in the first quarter that set the tone for what the Bucs would be putting out on the field for the remainder of the night. 

Kicker Chase McLaughlin also managed to throw in an illegal kickoff penalty to begin the second half. 

The loss brought to an end what is inarguably the hardest part of Tampa Bay’s schedule. The hope is that the Bucs advantage of getting to play the Saints and Falcons once more each, as well as the Panthers twice. 

Unfortunately, those matchups with the Panthers are not nearly as favorable as they once looked earlier in the season. 

Carolina has managed to put together a string of successful games is are now tied with the Bucs at top of the division heading into a Monday night matchup with the 49ers. 

The Bucs will at least get to face the Cardinals and the Dolphins as well, a pair of teams that are likely to end up as two of the worst in the NFL. 

But hey. It’s a Buc’s life. And it could be worse. 

They could be the Dolphins. 

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This article appears in Nov. 20 – 26, 2025.

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