The Los Angeles Rams knew the second half of their schedule would likely be tougher than the first, having to face the Seahawks twice, Cardinals twice, as well as the Buccaneers. They took care of the Seahawks in Week 10, their first game of the second half, but now they’ll try to make it two in a row against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football.

The Bucs come in having crushed the Panthers 46-23 in Week 10, seeking a two-game winning streak like the Rams. They’ve integrated Antonio Brown into the offense, giving Tom Brady yet another weapon on offense – as if he needed any more. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin round out arguably the best receiving corps in the NFL, while Rob Gronkowski, Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette will factor into the equation, too.

The Rams have the talent to match Tampa Bay’s skill players, boasting an elite secondary with Jalen Ramsey, Darious Williams, John Johnson and Jordan Fuller. They’ll all need to be at their best on Monday night, just as they were against the Seahawks last week.

As the underdogs, this will by no means be an easy win for the Rams. Tampa Bay has been tripped up in the past, but this isn’t a team that falls flat very often. The Rams need to not only lock down the Bucs’ receivers, but more importantly, they need to move the ball on offense themselves.

It won’t simply be enough to slow down Tampa Bay’s offense because you can’t win if you don’t score. It’s widely known how good the Buccaneers’ run defense is, even without Vita Vea in the middle, but their secondary is also playing well in Todd Bowles’ aggressive style of defense.

Jared Goff will have to be better under pressure than he was against Miami, likely seeing Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaquil Barrett in his face often – especially with Andrew Whitworth out. If he’s rattled, the Rams will have trouble moving the ball consistently.

This is a heavyweight bout, but ultimately, I think the Rams will come up just short. It’ll be close, likely within one possession, but once again, Brady will get the best of L.A. and pull out a late victory thanks to the help of Tampa Bay’s defense.

Final score prediction: Buccaneers 24, Rams 21