The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in what could be a preview of the NFC Championship. The Buccaneers and Rams are both undefeated in the NFC South and NFC West, respectively with identical 2-0 records. The showdown is expected to be a high-scoring one as the Buccaneers currently the league in scoring with an average of 39.5 points a game while the Rams are fifth with an average of 30.5 points per outing. So the Rams defense, led by defensive lineman Aaron Donald, is concerned on how to stop veteran quarterback Tom Brady and the high-octane Buccaneers offense.

“You know just playing against the veteran guy. They’ve been doing it a long time and playing at a high level these last two weeks, so we know we got our hands full but we’re prepared,” Donald said, per Stu Jackson of TheRams.com. Donald said the 44-year-old Brady is playing at a high level because his offensive line is protecting him well and he’s quick to get the ball out of his hands. “Guys around him making plays. You know that’s what you got to do to make plays in his league and that’s what they’re doing right now,” he stressed, per transcription of the video of his interview from the team’s YouTube channel.

Brady lauds Rams’ defensive unit

Brady, for his part, said going up against the Rams this week is a big challenge because they have good defensive players, especially Donald.

"They're one of the top-rated defenses in the league. They have one of the greatest defensive players of all-time,” said Brady, referring to Donald. Brady added that the Rams have no glaring weakness as they have a really good offense and defense, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. "It's just a very challenging team because they do a good job disguising coverages, but they've got a great pass rush," said Brady, who has a 5-1 mark against the Rams, with his only loss coming last season, 27-24.

This also marks the first time Brady will play in Los Angeles in his 22-year NFL career. The Buccaneers are expected to make big adjustments, especially in the passing game as the Rams yielded just 216.5 passing yards per game and 5.70 yards per pass play in their first two games.

Pierre-Paul, Mickens out; Brown questionable

After Friday’s practice, head coach Bruce Arians announced that outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul and wide receiver/kick returner Jaydon Mickens won’t travel with the team to Los Angeles for their game against the Rams on Sunday. Pierre-Paul is suffering from hand and shoulder injuries while Mickens has an abdomen injury, per Carmen Vitali of Buccaneers.com. The Buccaneers plan to provide more playing time to rookie Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and third-year player Anthony Nelson, but Arians hasn’t announced who will start between the two. In their first two games, Tryon-Shoyinka logged 40 defensive snaps while Nelson had 21. Arians also announced that wide receiver Antonio Brown remains questionable against the Rams because it remains to be seen if he can come off the reserve/COVID-19 in time for the game.