The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not rewarded for their late comeback in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams. Head coach Bruce Arians admits to mistakes in the defensive matchup before wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s go-ahead catch.

Munich/Tampa Bay – After Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette’s tying touchdown run near the end of their Divisional Round showdown against the Los Angeles Rams, quarterback Matthew Stafford had 42 seconds left to put his team in position for the game-winning field goal.

A first-down sack with seven seconds left forced the Rams to use their final timeout. However, the initial spark then set in. Stafford first connected with wide receiver Cooper Kupp for 20 yards. Kupp ran out of bounds to stop the clock. On the next play, the QB found his favourite playmaking station again with a 44-yard pass, whereupon kicker Matt Gay was able to decide the game.

Kupp overcame the single coverage of safety Antoine Winfield Jr. on this play. The way the Bucs went about pressuring Stafford led to heated discussion after the game. Head coach Bruce Arians stated that the quarterback blitz was not as dominant as the team wanted it to be. There would have been a misunderstanding between the coaches and the players.

“Some guys didn’t blitz,” Arians is quoted as saying by SportingNews.com. “I don’t know if they didn’t get the playcall, but it was an all-out blitz. We should have built a lot of pressure. “

Stafford unimpressed with Bucs strategy

Rams quarterback Stafford made no secret of the fact that he was unfazed by the Bucs’ defensive strategy.

“I felt it after the snap. I kind of realised maximum pressure was coming and was able to direct it into good position. And Coop made a great catch. “