SB Nation Reacts: Confidence in Rams peak as Tampa Bay awaits injury news on three key starters

The Rams aim to take out the champs as fan support continues to rise

Sending a division rival home from the playoffs just does something good to the soul. It also did something to the fans who voted in the most recent SB Nation Reacts polls, as 95 percent of Los Angeles Rams fans believe the team is heading in the right direction.

This weekend’s divisional round pits the Rams in a Week 3 rematch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. DraftKings Sportsbook is rolling with Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champions in this one, with the Bucs being a 2.5-point home favorite.

The Rams received a bit of bad news on the injury front on Friday when head coach Sean McVay confirmed both Andrew Whitworth and Taylor Rapp will miss Sunday’s playoff game. Fortunately, Joe Noteboom has done well while filling in for Big Whit, allowing only one sack in 207 snaps this season, including 22 snaps last week against the Cardinals according to Pro Football Focus.

Tampa Bay will be without running back Ronald Jones and wide receiver Breshad Perriman, though the focus is on the injury status of center Ryan Jensen, right tackle Tristan Wirfs, and running back Leonard Fournette. Wirfs and Jensen both practiced in a limited capacity on Friday, taking part in individual drills only. Fournette must be activated from the injured reserve today in order to play against the Rams tomorrow. And now, my watch begins.

The polls also show the majority of those who took part in the voting want to see the Rams represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVI. My unofficial polls show none of those people are fans of the Arizona Cardinals. Do you remember when they were printing playoff tickets in Week 14? Good times.

With so many intriguing matchups this weekend, the Rams battle against the Bucs ranks as the second-most anticipated game, garnering 22 percent of the votes. Unsurprisingly, the potential shootout between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs tops the list.

There should be minimal weather concerns during the game on Sunday, as chances for rain are very low according to weather.com. Meanwhile, official weather reports for the Green Bay Packers against the San Francisco 49ers has the temperature reaching “too damn cold.”

Without looking past the Bucs, would you rather play the Packers in Green Bay or host the 49ers in SoFi Stadium?

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