Tampa Bay @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 23, 2012 ) St. Louis 28, Tampa Bay 13

Playing in the rugged NFC West is a daunting chore for the St. Louis Rams, who can creep closer to the .500 mark when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Rams posted their third double-digit victory over a playoff contender with a 27-16 home win over New Orleans last week, keeping the Saints out of the end zone until the final quarter. "We don't have much to play for except for the fun of it and guys aren't giving up or hanging their heads," Rams defensive end Robert Quinn said.

The Buccaneers have done an admirable job digging out of the wreckage of an 0-8 start, but they have dropped two of their last three and been stymied by two of the league's premier defenses in Carolina and San Francisco. Tampa Bay is only 1-5 on the road, but that victory came at Detroit and it also took Seattle into overtime before losing at what is widely acknowledged as the league's toughest venue. Rookie quarterback Mike Glennon has not thrown for more than 180 yards in his last three games.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, Fox. LINE: Rams -4. O/U: 43

ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (4-10): Playing with Glennon and third-string running back Bobby Rainey has taken a toll on Tampa Bay's offense, but one of the brightest developments has been the performance of tight end Tim Wright. An undrafted rookie out of Rutgers, Wright had seven receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown in last week's loss to San Francisco and has scored four times in his last eight games. On the other side of the ball, second-year linebacker Lavonte David joins former Bears star Brian Urlacher as the only players in the last decade to accumulate more than 100 tackles, five sacks and five interceptions in a season.

ABOUT THE RAMS (6-8): St. Louis also lost its starting quarterback early in the season and has been going with journeyman Kellen Clemens, who completed a season-high 70 percent of his passes while tossing two TD passes last week. Clemens and the Rams have leaned heavily on unheralded rookie running back Zac Stacy, who is coming off his third 100-yard game and has rushed for six touchdowns in his past six games. "He never takes negative runs," Clemens said of the fifth-round draft pick. "If it's there, he hits it. If it's not there, he creates a hole."

EXTRA POINTS

1. Quinn tops the NFC with 15 sacks and St. Louis is tied for fifth in the league with 42.

2. Buccaneers WR Vincent Jackson needs four catches to surpass his career-high 72 set last season.

3. Stacy needs 146 yards to reach 1,000 despite carrying the ball only once in the first four weeks.

PREDICTION: Rams 23, Buccaneers 20