Tavon Austin scored twice and Todd Gurley topped 1,000 yards rushing as the Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 on Thursday in what could be the club’s final game in St Louis.
The 31st-ranked offense had an inspired effort in front of another half-filled, but spirited Edward Jones Dome crowd, rolling to a 21-3 halftime lead behind Case Keenum’s two touchdown passes.
Fans chanted: “Keep our Rams! Keep our Rams!” and carried signs, one of them reading” “We don’t need Kroenke, we just want our Rams.”
Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY
Owner Stan Kroenke, who wants to move the Rams (6-8) to Los Angeles, attended the game, but kept a low profile.
The team announced 51,295 tickets had been distributed for the 66,000-capacity dome.
Up 31-13, the Rams became conservative and Jameis Winston took advantage with two touchdown passes in a big fourth quarter. He had just 125 yards passing the first three quarters, but finished with a career-best 363 for Tampa Bay (6-8), his first 300-yard effort.
The halftime deficit was the Buccaneers’ largest since they were down 35-7 against the Titans in their opening 42-14 loss.
Mike Evans had nine receptions for 157 yards and topped 1,000 yards.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins’ nine-yard scoring catch cut the deficit to eight with 1 minute, 34 seconds to play, but the Rams’ Bryce Hager recovered the onside kick.
Benny Cunningham had a 102-yard kickoff return to the Tampa Bay three in the fourth quarter and a 44-yard return on the opening kickoff capped by Austin’s 17-yard scoring reception.
Gurley needed 25 yards to become the first Rams rookie to rush for 1,000 yards since Jerome Bettis and did not get it by much, gaining 48 yards on 21 carries.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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