Buccaneers vs. Los Angeles Rams 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33 Los Angeles Rams 34
Gary Jeter blocked an extra-point attempt in the first quarter, which became the Rams' margin of victory when they staged a fourth-quarter rally.
Eric Dickerson was held to 67 yards rushing through the first three periods, but rushed for 124 yards in the final quarter, leading his team to a comeback from a 26–17 deficit. The game left Dickerson just 372 yards short of O. J. Simpson's NFL single-season rushing record of 2,003 yards.
The Buccaneers had to settle for a field goal on their opening drive, when officials ruled a bobbled Gerald Carter end-zone reception to be incomplete. Game films later indicated that Carter did indeed catch the pass. A last-minute Buccaneer drive ended when LeRoy Irvin intercepted a pass intended for Theo Bell. While the Buccaneer offense produced 406 yards and a team-record 28 first downs, the defense allowed 299 rushing yards.
This was the 200th consecutive game that Rams linebacker Jack Youngblood, an eventual inductee into the Professional Football Hall of Fame, played in. He suffered an injury to his sciatic nerve during the second quarter that ended his season, and ultimately his career. His Rams-record consecutive-game streak of 201 games, which included two playoff games played with a broken leg (including the 1979 playoff game against Tampa Bay) ended after a brief appearance the following week, and he would never again play in an NFL game.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Gene Barth
- UMPIRE: Bob Boylston
- HEAD LINESMAN: Burl Toler
- LINE JUDGE: Jack Johnson
- BACK JUDGE: Jimmy Rosser
- FIELD JUDGE: Bernie Kukar
- SIDE JUDGE: Gerry Austin
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 10:06-1Q Ariri FG26
- BUCCANEERS: 1:20-1Q Wilder 1 run (kick blocked)
- RAMS: 10:28-2Q Dickerson 2 run (Lansford kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 9:18-2Q J. Bell 16 pass from DeBerg (Ariri kick)
- RAMS: 1:44-2Q Lansford FG35
- RAMS: 11:11-3Q Dickerson 1 run (Lansford kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 4:48-3Q Ariri FG24
- BUCCANEERS: 0:00-3Q Armstrong 6 pass from DeBerg (Ariri kick)
- RAMS: 12:23-4Q Kemp 1 run (Lansford kick)
- RAMS: 10:18-4Q Dickerson 33 run (Lansford kick)
- RAMS: 5:35-4Q Lansford FG27
- BUCCANEERS: 2:51-4Q Wilder 1 run (Ariri kick)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #81 I. Hagins
- LT: #75 D. Reavis
- LG: #74 G. Sanders
- C: #50 S. Wilson
- RG: #61 G. Roberts
- RT: #73 C. Hannah
- TE: #88 J. Giles
- WR: #84 G. Jones
- TE: #12 D. Williams
- QB: #42 R. Bell
- TB: #43 J. Eckwood
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #78 J. Cannon
- NT: #76 D. Logan
- RE: #63 L. Selmon
- LOLB: #59 R. Thompson
- LILB: #58 J. Davis
- RILB: #52 S. Brantley
- ROLB: #51 C. Washington
- LCB: #23 J. Castille
- RCB: #21 J. Holt
- LS: #33 M. Cotney
- RS: #43 B. Reece
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 2 Ariri, 5 Garcia, 20 Morton, 24 Harvey, 25 Dierking, 27 Acorn, 29 Bright, 31 Curry, 38 Peoples, 41 Thomas, 46 Armstrong, 54 Wood, 55 Spradlin, 57 Browner, 60 Grimes, 67 Morgan, 70 Thomas, 71 Braggs, 72 Courson, 75 Darns, 79 Kaplan, 81 Dixon, 83 T Bell, 85 Witte, 86 Carroll
DID NOT PLAY
- 14 Thompson
INACTIVE
- none
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 20-77, DeBerg 2-7.
- RAMS: Dickerson 28-191, Redden 3-48, Crutchfield 8-43, Brown 1-16, Kemp 3-1.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: DeBerg 44-27-322-1-2.
- RAMS: Kemp 10-7-68-0-0.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 10-80, T.Bell 4-88, House 4-50, J.Bell 3-47, Carter 3-33, Armstrong 2-17, Dixon 1-7.
- RAMS: Ellard 1-23, Farmer 1-19, Guman 1-10, Da. Hill 1-9, Grant 1-5, Dickerson 1-3, Barber 1-(-1).
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: none
- RAMS: Irvin 1-0.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Bright 3-49, Morton 2-69.
- RAMS: Hill 4-101, Redden 1-21.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Bright 1-11.
- RAMS: Ellard 2-31.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: none
- RAMS: none
